Preparations to salvage a tour boat that sank off Hokkaido last month, leaving 14 dead and 12 people missing, were completed Saturday.
The raising of the 19-ton Kazu I will take place early next week. The boat, which currently sits on the seabed some 120 meters below the surface, went missing off the Shiretoko Peninsula on April 23.
Divers from Nippon Salvage Co. have checked to ensure the boat can be raised safely, according to the coast guard.
The private company was hired by the coast guard, and will work with the transport ministry to salvage the boat. The operation is set to cost around ¥140 million ($1.1 million).
Poor weather is forecast for Sunday, so the next phase will not begin until Monday at the earliest. This will see the vessel lifted around 10 to 20 meters before it is towed to shallow water. A crane will then be used to lift Kazu I and put it on a barge, which will then transport it to a nearby port.
The coast guard has continued its search of the area with aircraft and patrol boats, including a two-day search for bodies inside the boat through Friday.
Two bodies, possibly of the missing, have been found washed up on Kunashiri Island, one of the islands controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan near Hokkaido, according to the coast guard.
A Japanese driver's license was found close to a body leading authorities to suspect it could be a 27-year-old deckhand, the coast guard said Saturday. The body of a woman was discovered on May 6.