A district court on Russian-held Kunashiri Island has set Sept. 21 as the trial date for a Japanese fishing boat skipper who has been charged with illegally entering Russian waters and poaching crab, Interfax news agency reported Wednesday.
Noboru Sakashita, 59, the skipper of the 4.9-ton fishing boat Kisshin Maru No. 31, has been detained since Aug. 16, when he was captured with two other crew members by Russian authorities in waters near Russian-held Kaigara Island off Hokkaido.
One crew member, Mitsuhiro Morita, was killed and the two others were released Aug. 30.