The body of a 35-year-old Japanese fisherman shot dead Wednesday by a Russian border patrol boat near disputed islands was returned Saturday to Nemuro, Hokkaido, after Russia handed over the body to Japanese officials earlier in the day.
The Japanese Coast Guard patrol vessel Saroma brought the body of Mitsuhiro Morita into Nemuro port at around 1:50 p.m. after Vice Foreign Minister Akiko Yamanaka collected it on Russian-held Kunashiri Island at around 10:20 a.m.
An autopsy was to be conducted before the body is handed over to the fisherman's family, officials said.