Two Japanese fishermen returned home Wednesday after being detained by Russian authorities for two weeks for alleged poaching.
A Russian Federal Border Guard Service boat handed over Akiyoshi Kawamura, 29, and Haruki Kamiya, 25, to a Hokkaido fisheries patrol boat near the Japanese-Russian median line just off the coast of Hokkaido at around 1:40 p.m., a prefectural official said.
The skipper of Kisshin Maru No. 3, Noboru Sakashita, 59, is still in custody and faces legal action and the boat remains in Russian hands.