On Jan. 18, the Russian border guard conducted an on-the-spot inspection of No. 53 Nikko Maru, a Japanese fishing boat (19 tons, 10 crew members) that belongs to the Nemuro Bay Chubu fishermen’s cooperative (Nemuro City), while operating off Nemuro, Hokkaido. The border guard escorted the boat to Furukamappu, which is known as Yuzhno-Kurilsk in Russian, on the island of Kunashiri. The Japanese government has requested the Russian government release the crew and return the boat as soon as possible.