A woman who was rescued from a drifting sailboat in waters off Hokkaido has been identified as a Russian national, the coast guard said Tuesday.
The 48-year-old woman, identified as Tatiana Riabkova Leonidovna, told the coast guard that she departed Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East, on May 1.
She was on her way to Israel but the vessel's pulley system broke in late May, according to the coast guard.
The sailboat was found drifting Sunday by a Japanese patrol plane in the Sea of Japan, some 35 kilometers from Cape Benkei in Suttsu on Hokkaido's western coast.
The sailboat was carrying enough food and water, and the woman is in good health, the coast guard said.