The Japan Coast Guard ended rescue efforts Saturday for three people who went missing late last month during a canoe trip near a remote island close to Taiwan, agency officials said Sunday.
The three are 39-year-old Mika Nakiri from Yokohama, her 10-year-old daughter Ryoko, and tour guide Masanori Hongo, 37, from the town of Taketomi on Iriomote Island, Okinawa Prefecture.
The trio went missing after leaving Aragusuku Island on March 23 for Iriomote Island, about 6.5 km west of Aragusuku.
On March 25, the Coast Guard discovered one of the two canoes and some of the trio's belongings in waters 120 km south of Iriomote Island. It did not find any other clues on their whereabouts.
The coast guard will continue patrolling relevant areas on a regular scale and ask ships sailing through the area to provide information, it added.