Eight rescued after Korean tanker capsizes off Japan

The island is just off the southwestern end of Japan's main island of Honshu, about 1000km from Tokyo.

The ship was completely capsized by the time rescuers arrived at the scene, the coast guard said.

Footage on NHK television showed the ship completely upside down, a rough sea washing over its red underside.

The conditions of the rescued crew members were not known.

The ship was carrying a South Korean captain, and its crew included another South Korean national, a Chinese and eight Indonesians, according to the coast guard.

No other details, including how the ship capsized, were immediately known.