Mainichi
CHOSHI, Chiba -- A letter sent floating into the sky from an elementary school 15 years ago has been found on a fish netted about 40 kilometers off the coast here. Kiyoshi Kimino, 52, owner of the fishing boat "Daihachi Daitoku Maru," found the folded letter tied to the remains of a balloon caught up on a shark-skin flounder that was netted about 40 kilometers southeast off Inubosaki, Chiba Prefecture, while he was sorting out the day's catch at Choshi Port on Thursday. "I am a first-grader. ... Please reply to me if you pick up this letter," the note read. The Choshi Fisheries Cooperative contacted the Miyazaki Municipal Elementary School in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, and found that the letter and the balloon were released by students during a ceremony marking the 120th anniversary of the school in 1993...more...