Japanese Fishing Boat Missing

A Japanese fishing boat with eight crew members was missing in the Pacific after losing radio contact with other boats, the Japan Coast Guard said Sunday. The 19-ton Kofuku Maru No. 1 was 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of Tokyo when it last communicated with the fleet on Saturday afternoon, a local coastguard official said. The coastguard sent patrol boats and helicopters to search for the vessel but by Sunday afternoon had not found the missing crew members, the official said. 'Rescuers started the search in the waters today and reported high waves of some six metres (19.8 feet),' the official said. The fishing boat had planned to return the Shimoda port in central Shizuoka prefecture on Sunday, Jiji Press reported.