Tour operator’s offices raided

Coast guard officials searched the office of a Japanese tour boat operator yesterday as part of a criminal investigation into suspicions that professional negligence caused the sinking of a vessel carrying 26 people lastmonth. The Kazu 1 sightseeing boat started the tour in Shiretoko National Park on the northeastern side of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, on April 23 despite forecast rough seas and warnings from other tour operators. It made a distress call that afternoon saying it was sinking. The coast guard said investigators were raiding unidentified locations related to the tour boat operator. Fourteen bodies have been recovered.