Japan lodges protest with North Korea after boat crew threatened to fire at its coastguard

A crew member aboard a high-speed vessel, likely from North Korea, threatened to fire a rifle at a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat in the Sea of Japan in late August, coastguard officials said on Friday.The Japanese government has lodged a stern protest with North Korea through the Japanese Embassy in Beijing following the incident, chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference.The incident took place near an area known as Yamatotai within Japan’s exclusive economic…