One person died and 24 others were rescued on Monday after a fishing boat lost power and drifted onto rocks in rough seas off Japan, the coast guard said.

Dramatic television footage showed the 56-meter vessel on its side being pounded by waves as the crew huddled on deck and a helicopter hovered overhead.

The tuna-fishing ship's crew included five Japanese nationals and 20 Indonesians.

According to a coast guard spokesman, the vessel had engine trouble on Sunday afternoon off the Izu archipelago south of Honshu.

In an operation involving patrol boats and helicopters, all but one of the crew members had been rescued by Monday morning, he said.

The body of the missing Japanese crew member was later found.