Officials vague on rumor Japanese support was refused for S Korean ferry

[yuiyoshida]

TOKYO —


During a meeting in a gymnasium on Jindo Island in South Korea between South Korean coast guard officials and families of those on board the recently capsized ferry, one family member brought up a circulating rumor that the South Korean government had refused search and rescue support from neighboring Japan.

According to reports from Japan’s Sankei Shimbun, an official was updating the victims’ families as to the progress of the search efforts. It was during this presentation that someone asked, “I hear that you turned down an offer of search support from the Japanese. Is that true?”

Following the question, the room reportedly erupted into a clamor. The man on stage responded by saying, “This is the first I’ve heard of it. I will have to look into that before answering.”

There is certainly no love lost between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF)and South Korea following decades of colonial occupation and allegations of several human rights violations. However, most would agree that during times of extreme emergency such as this, diplomatic tensions should be put aside.

more..http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/officials-vague-on-rumor-japanese-support-was-refused-for-s-korean-ferry

[Lurks Often]

1. There were simpler reasons to decline the aid of the Japanese

There were plenty of assets already present, so it's unlikely another plane, helicopter or ship would have made a difference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_South_Korean_ferry_capsizing#Rescue_operations

Unless there was a Japanese vessel already in the area, the closest possible base the Japanese could have responded from would have been the airport on the island Tsushima, roughly 200 miles away, probably about 90 minutes flying time for a helicopter, at which point anybody in the water would have already succumbed to hypothermia. That's presuming there were even air/sea rescue assets available at Tsushima.