Hirotsugu Kimura waves from his yacht Miranda near Wakayama Prefecture on Saturday.
18:39 JST, June 8, 2024
A 24-year-old former member of the Self-Defense Forces on Saturday became the youngest Japanese person to sail around the world non-stop alone on a yacht.
Hirotsugu Kimura reached a point in the Kii Suido Channel near Hinomisaki Cape in Wakayama Prefecture – the location he had set as the goal of his journey – on Saturday around 2:40 p.m., breaking the record of sea adventurer Kojiro Shiraishi, who the feat 30 years ago at the age of 26 years and 10 months in March 1994.
Kimura completed the solo sail, covering about 52,000 kilometers in 231 days after leaving a marina in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, in his 12.5-meter vessel Miranda on October 22 last year. Kimura ate food he had prepared in advance and used solar energy and other equipment. Kimura stopped at no ports and received no supplies during his journey.
Offshore, Kimura was met Saturday by company members who supported him and others on a ship that blew its horn in celebration.
“I am so happy and relieved,” Kimura said on the phone. “Above all, it’s good to be alive again.”
