Finding into death of Junichi Yoshimura
Deceased
Junichi Yoshimura
Demographics
41y, male
Date of death
2017-07-27
Finding date
2018-04-05
Cause of death
unascertained
AI-generated summary
Junichi Yoshimura, a 41-year-old Japanese man residing in Victoria, departed in his kayak on 27 July 2017 from Altona boat ramp in Port Phillip Bay and was never found. His empty kayak was recovered 6 nautical miles offshore. The coroner could not establish a medical cause of death as the body was never recovered. Critical issues identified include: the kayak was designed for calm conditions but used in increasingly rough waters; Mr Yoshimura may not have been wearing a life jacket despite cold conditions; he was not carrying an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) or Personal Locator Beacon; and there was no real-time communication system. The coroner recommended mandatory carriage of EPIRBs or Personal Locator Beacons for all human-powered vessel activities regardless of distance from shore, emphasising the need for improved safety requirements in recreational boating.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- kayak designed for calm conditions used in rough waters
- absence of life jacket at time of departure not confirmed
- lack of emergency position indicating radio beacon or personal locator beacon
- no real-time communication device
- deteriorating weather conditions on Port Phillip Bay
- inadequate safety equipment requirements for human-powered vessels
Coroner's recommendations
- That Transport Safety Victoria liaise with the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources with a view to seek amendment of the Maritime Safety Regulations 2012 (Vic), to require the compulsory carrying of an EPIRB or a Personal Locator Beacon (preferably with GPS capability) for all human powered vessel activities, regardless of the classification of waterway or distance offshore.
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —