For years Japanese fishermen shipping out of Hokkaido have faced a particular risk above and beyond the normal hazards of their trade. From bases in the tiny Habomai and Shikotan islands, only two miles off Hokkaido, Soviet patrol boats steam out at unpredictable intervals, seize from 50 to 100 Japanese fishing boats a year on charges of violating the twelve-mile limit. The crews and the boats are usually sent home, but the Russians keep the captains, sentence them to a year or so at hard labor.
Islands Offered. Last week the Russians were using the...
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