Woman rescued after day adrift

A Chinese woman who was swept out to sea while swimming at a Japanese beach was rescued 37 hours later after drifting in an inflatable swim ring more than 80 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, officials said Thursday.

- MARI YAMAGUCHI

Japan's coast guard launched a search for the woman, identified only as a Chinese national in her 20s, after receiving a call Monday night from her friend saying she had disappeared while swimming at Shimoda, about 200 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.

She was likely swept out to sea by a current and an evening seaward wind from the mountains and her swim ring made it more difficult to move against the wind, experts said.

The woman was spotted by a cargo ship early Wednesday, about 36 hours after she disappeared off the southern tip of Boso Peninsula, the coast guard said.