Families of victims plead for continued search

“I reply to them, ‘not yet, but they will find him,’” she said.

Nakata, wife of missing Ehime Maru instructor Jun Nakata, believes that her husband still could be alive somewhere off the coast of O‘ahu. She cried as she asked officials to keep looking.

Wiping away tears and struggling with anger and frustration, Nakata and other relatives of the nine missing since the submarine USS Greeneville burst out of the water and collided with the Japanese fishing vessel pleaded with officials to continue the search. They also asked for a promise that the sunken fishing vessel be raised. Many are convinced their loved ones are entombed inside.

Shizuko Kimura, sister of missing Ehime Maru crew member Toshimichi Furuya, said she will wait for her brother’s body for years. But her mother cannot: She has a heart that won’t rest until her son is brought home.

“I am not asking you to bring him back alive, but please bring his body back,” Kimura said. “Please give my brother back for my mother who’s waiting for him in Japan.”

Kimura is certain her brother, who was in the engine room at the time of the collision, is still inside the vessel at the bottom of the sea.

Ryosuke Terada, father of missing student Yusuke Terada, cried and then shouted in anger, demanding that Cmdr. Scott Waddle, captain of the Greenville, apologize for the accident.

Waddle should forget the restrictions of the military and the investigation and come to the family members in person, Terada said.

“If you’re a man, come in front of us,” Terada said. “Come up.”

Terada and others said they have heard the apologies of several American officials, but complained that no one from the USS Greeneville has offered an apology.

His son was a tender-hearted, kind person who hoped for peace and felt badly when he heard of war or terrible incidents. That he was involved in an accident like this is unforgivable, Terada said.

Mitsunori Nomoto, father of missing student Katsuya Nomoto, talked to his son the day before the collision. Now he has nothing of his son’s to remember him by. Katsuya’s brothers waiting in Japan also have a message: Please bring the ship back up.

Others said they need at least a piece of the Ehime Maru before they go home. The group has not been allowed to look at the debris collected during the search-and-rescue efforts. Family members also expressed disbelief that the Navy doesn’t know the exact location of the fishing vessel or whether it can be brought back to the surface.

Kazuo Nakata, father of missing instructor Jun Nakata, held up a picture of the missing vessel. “This is the Ehime Maru I want you to bring back.”

The group of 25 family members today forwarded a list of 31 questions and requests to the American government, and the U.S. Navy in particular. Upset because they say the Navy is not answering enough questions about the incident, the families are asking for a timeline of events, an explanation of the emergency ballast blow procedure the USS Greeneville crew was practicing and a work schedule for the Scorpio, the deep-sea submersible the Navy is using in recovery efforts.

One of the questions: “Did you let the civilians experience the emergency blow to let them enjoy the thrill of a roller coaster ride? Will you continue such a foolish ‘leisure island tour’ in such areas with many yachts and boats?”
The list also asks if the Navy is buying time in the investigation, and asks for answers in writing.

Mika Makizawa, wife of missing staff member Hiroshi Makizawa, said her husband had been calling her every day in Japan. She thought things would make more sense if she came to Hawai‘i to get an explanation of the collision and wait through the search. “But nothing has been clear at all,” she said.

Nakata said the people aboard the Ehime Maru didn’t deserve their fate.

“What did the Ehime Maru do?” he asked.

Advertiser contributor Miki Lendon contributed to this report.