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MEXT Reprimands Doshisha After Henoko Boat Capsize; Prosecutors Prepare Charges Against Captain

The ministry’s finding of “remarkably inappropriate” safety management signals administrative enforcement and spurs institutional reforms at the school corporation.

Overview

  • A training-boat capsize off Henoko, Okinawa killed two Doshisha Kokusai High School students and prompted a government probe into the school corporation’s oversight.
  • The Ministry of Education on May 22 publicly judged the school corporation’s safety management to be remarkably inappropriate and issued formal guidance to the institution.
  • School Corporation Doshisha issued a public apology and announced plans to create a centralized safety-management office scheduled for October and to require pre-review of off-campus programs.
  • Prosecutors are reported to be moving toward criminally charging the vessel’s captain over registration and related suspicions, adding a possible criminal accountability track to the case.
  • Separate but concurrent developments include announced JapanU.S. military exercises with V-22 Osprey deployments to Miyakojima, the arrival of a U.S. carrier strike group in the Caribbean, and rapid Diet action on a National Information Council bill.