A naval gun believed to have belonged to the former Imperial Japanese Navy is seen after it was salvaged off Shakotan, Hokkaido, in this photo provided by the Esashi coast guard station.

       A plate on an old naval gun salvaged off Shakotan, Hokkaido, bears inscriptions including "Kure naval arsenal" and "Meiji 39-nen," or the 39th year of the Meiji era, in this photo provided by the Esashi coast guard station.

       SAPPORO -- A naval gun believed to have belonged to the former Imperial Japanese Navy was salvaged off a northern Japanese town early on Nov. 11, local authorities said.

       The roughly 2-meter-long gun was recovered from waters about 30 kilometers northwest of Cape Kamui in the town of Shakotan, Hokkaido, at around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 11. It was entangled in the ropes of a crab pot fishing boat operating in the area.

       According to the Esashi coast guard station, the gun's plates bear inscriptions including "Kure naval arsenal," "40-caliber" and "3-inch gun," plus the year "Meiji 39-nen" (1906), or the 39th year of Japan's Meiji era.

       Hokkaido Prefectural Police's Esashi Police Station temporarily cordoned off Esashi Port in the town of Esashi, where the salvaged gun is being stored. After a Maritime Self-Defense Force inspection found the gun was not loaded, police lifted the cordon.

       Forty-year Japan Coast Guard veteran Hideo Maeda, 59, head of the Esashi coast guard station, commented, "We've retrieved shells before, but I'd never heard of salvaging a naval gun."

       (Japanese original by Takumi Taniguchi, Hokkaido News Department)

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