Dozens of corpse-filled fishing boats drift by Japan every year. Since late October alone, 11 of these boats have washed up on Japan's shores, and 145 have drifted by between 2013 and 2014.

Foreign fishing boats have frequently intruded into Japan’s EEZ. According to Fisheries Agency officials, about 4,000 North Korean fishing boats were ordered to leave the waters in 2019.