Sub tragedy leaves Japanese town bitter

Uwajima teachers try to gather information shortly after the tragedy

Sadness and anger swept the remote fishing port of Uwajima in southern Japan after the 9 February news that a fishing vessel had gone down off the Hawaiian coast.

Survivors have complained of insomnia, nausea and skin rashes

The tragedy spelt a personal loss for the town.

The trawler, which sank after being rammed by a nuclear-powered US submarine leaving nine people missing, belonged to Uwajima Fisheries High School and was carrying its students.

Among the nine people killed in the collision are two of the school's teachers and four 17-year-old students.

It's outrageous and unforgivable

Local resident

In a town where many people are related or have known each other for years, the tragedy has hit residents hard.

Amid hopes for a miraculous rescue earlier in the week, locals were glued to news reports, some carrying portable TVs, in homes and stores.

The tragedy has caught attention from the media and public

During the wait for news, neighbourhood children delivered small paper origami ornaments they had made with messages of hope to the house of Katsuya Nomoto, one of the missing students.

At the school, officials helped students cope with the tragedy, cancelling classes to hold meetings and giving tearful students time to pray for their missing schoolmates.

Rising bitterness

Hope was overtaken by anger over the week in Uwajima, a town known for its ruggedness and dominated by the ocean, with many residents working in the fisheries or pearl industry.

Although the US says it is doing its best in the investigation, we cannot trust that claim

Local newspaper Ehime

"I would like to believe that Toshiya is still alive, treading water some place in the Pacific," said Fumihisa Ueda, a city assembly man whose daughter was a classmate of missing student Toshiya Sakashima.

"But our hopes are fading, and people in our town are getting angry at the United States."

Relatives broke down when they visited the disaster scene

Bitterness rose amid reports that civilians were at the controls of the US submarine, one pulling a crucial lever under supervision.

"It's outrageous and unforgivable," said Hirofumi Takeda. "It sounds like they were fooling around. It's very upsetting for the people in this town."

"I sense laxness. I just cannot stand it," Yoshiko Kamado, whose son Atsushi was rescued, told Kyodo news.

The tragedy comes at a time when the town is struggling to cope with the nation's weak economy and problems in the local cultured pearl industry, hit by a disease among oysters.

I came... to express my personal apology to the people of Ehime. I felt that was very important

US official

"We already had an economic slump... now [we] feel even more depressed," coffee shop owner Noriko Inoue told Associated Press.

On Friday, US Consul-General Robert Ludan visited Ehime Prefecture - which includes Uwijama - to personally apologise.

"People in this prefecture are upset by various media reports about the accident," the prefecture's Governor Moriyuki Kato said after meeting Mr Ludan.

"I urged him to disclose more information about the investigation."

Students' return

Students have been going out to sea in training voyages - some as long as two months - since the late 1950s.

We should hate the crime but not the people

School head Ietaka Hirota

Hawaii has often been a choice spot, as it is considered a safe destination with its calm waters and medical facilities.

It was an emotional moment when the nine students who had survived the tragedy returned to Uwajima on Tuesday.

"I almost cried when I saw them because they are still young kids," said lawmaker Koichi Yamamoto.

The Ehime Maru: Japan wants answers

Many were pulled underwater by the suction of the sinking vessel and only survived when their life jackets automatically inflated.

After surfacing, some vomited up diesel fuel swallowed in the water.

The school's principal broke down when describing his visit to the site of the tragedy, where the names of the missing were called out.

"I saw a gull and after that I saw a whale making three jumps out of the water," Mr Horita said.

"That made me imagine that he was a messenger from my students, who did not respond to our calls. After that, I couldn't stop crying."