Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Maritime Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Adm. Keiji Akahoshi were among the mourners at the funeral May 29 of two fishermen who were lost in February after their small fishing boat was run over by an MSDF destroyer.

Shigeru Ishiba. KYODO PHOTO

Capt. Ken Funato, the skipper of the 7,750-ton destroyer Atago at the time of the collision, also attended the service for Haruo Kichisei, 58, and his son, Tetsuhiro, 23.

Kichisei's relatives, and fellow fishermen and their families bade farewell to the two during the service held at a funeral hall in their hometown of Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture.

The Japan Coast Guard declared them dead May 20 after more than three months had passed since they disappeared in the Feb. 19 collision.