Investigators are continuing to look into the origin of the boat (Creative Commons).

A small wooden boat was discovered off the rocky western coast of Sado City, Japan, containing multiple decomposing human corpses, local police officials told CNN.

“The bodies were decomposed badly and we still cannot confirm exactly how many of them there are,” said Toshiyuki Kojima, deputy chief of Sado Nishi Police Station. 

Police also shared that some of the bodies had decomposed to the point where only skeletons remained 

The 13-meter boat was badly damaged and scattered with belongings and rubbish.

Along the side of the boat there are faint Korean characters, however, according to police, they are impossible to read. 

“We cannot determine their nationality yet,” he said. “The boat seems to have been drifting in the sea for quite some time.” 

Similarly, AFP reported, a group of nine North Koreans were found 15 miles off the coast of Noto peninsula by the Japanese coastguard last September. 

It is a very strange occurrence as Japan is not a common destination for refugees from North Korea, according to CNN. The majority of them resettle in South Korea or Korean-speaking areas in northern China. 

In 2006, four North Koreans floated to northern Japan. In 1987, a family of 11 drifted from North Korea to west Japan.

Reach Staff Reporter Joseph Krassenstein here.