Overview
- The second hearing at Kushiro District Court took testimony from four witnesses, including a Japan Small Vessel Inspection Organization inspector and a Japan Coast Guard officer.
- The inspector testified that the pre-accident check followed then-current "normal voyage" standards and found no abnormalities, saying a hatch open/close test was not required under those criteria.
- A Coast Guard officer detailed reconstruction trials under similar conditions showing a vessel’s bow lifting over waves and slamming onto the sea, adding the smaller KAZU I would likely have faced stronger vertical shocks.
- Prosecutors contend strong wind and high wave advisories made danger foreseeable and that the operator, as voyage manager, should have ordered a halt under company safety rules even after departure.
- The defense argues a faulty hatch lever was missed in inspection and that Seikichi Katsurada could not have predicted the sinking, noting JCI later tightened rules to require haul-out inspections and mandatory hatch testing.