Three crew members were dead after a Cambodian-registered cargo ship sank off northern Japan early Friday, local media reported.
All 10 crew members were picked up by the Japan Coast Guard and taken to hospital, but three - two Chinese and one Myanmar - were later confirmed dead, Jiji Press reported.
The other seven - five Chinese and two Bangladeshi - are not in a life-threatening condition, dpa quoted Jiji as saying.
The 1,915-ton freighter was bound for South Korea from Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido when the Japan Coast Guard received an emergency call from the captain around 11:40 pm Thursday (1440 GMT), the report said.
The captain then reported the ship was listing off Aomori prefecture, Jiji said.
The freighter listed further and finally sank around 6:05 am Friday, according to the coast guard.
The 10 crew members were drifting in the sea, wearing life jackets, when rescuers arrived at the scene, the report said.