Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori urged the United States on Sunday to salvage the Japanese ship that sank after being hit by a U.S. nuclear submarine off Hawaii on Friday.
According to Japanese officials and crew members of the Ehime Maru, some of the nine missing people are believed to have been trapped inside when the ship went down.
Mori made the request to U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley, who visited the Prime Minister's Official Residence to convey apologies and regret from President George W. Bush, government officials said.