A Japanese fishing boat seized two months ago by Russian authorities near disputed waters off Hokkaido was released Friday after its owners paid a 10.47 million yen fine, the Foreign Ministry said.
Russian authorities are still holding two other Japanese boats on charges of poaching, the ministry said.
On Oct. 31, Russian border patrol boats intercepted and searched the Japanese vessels off the Kamchatka Peninsula, just north of islands claimed by both Japan and Russia, accusing them of poaching.
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