Skeletons found on 'ghost ship' washed up in Japan

Japanese authorities are trying to identify eight people whose partially skeletonised remains were found on a wooden boat that washed up on a beach in the northern Akita prefecture. It comes days after a group of men claiming to be North Korean fishermen washed onshore in the same area.

Crew-less boats or vessels with bodies on board, known as "ghost ships" and thought to be North Korean fishing boats, regularly wash up in Japan. They have usually been found on the western coast, which faces North Korea.

The discovery is the latest in a string of similar incidents. On Friday, a wooden boat carrying eight men - alive and in reasonably good health - washed up at Yurihonjo city. Reuters news agency reported that two bodies were also found over the weekend at Sado island, with a pack of North Korean cigarettes and other belongings with Korean lettering.

The BBC's Celia Hatton says the appearance of "ghost ships" is thought to be a consequence of North Korea's attempts to satisfy hunger by demanding huge quotas of seafood. That forces fishermen to board ageing ill-equipped vessels and to venture far out to sea, with no equipment to issue a distress call if their boats run into trouble, says our correspondent.