The Japan Coast Guard rescued a Mexican man near Uotsuri Island in the Senkaku chain, Okinawa Prefecture, officials said Saturday.
He is believed to have drifted to the island in a canoe from the island of Yonaguni, also in Okinawa, according to officials from the 11th Regional Headquarters in Naha.
The headquarters, which coordinated the rescue, reported that a patrol ship spotted the man waving for help on the eastern side of Uotsuri around 2:40 p.m. on Friday. He was rescued by helicopter around 5 p.m.
A Mexican national had gone missing from an accommodation facility on Yonaguni, and it appears this was the rescued person, the officials said.