A Filipino seaman was rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard after a Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel made a distress call on Wednesday from Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

The vessel is carrying 43 crew members, 39 of whom are Filipinos. The Japanese Coast Guard sent patrol boats and airplanes to conduct the search for the missing vessel, which is still ongoing.

In a report to the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office ( POLO) in Osaka said the rescued Filipino is Chief Officer Edwardo Sareno

The Consulate General in Osaka is monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Japanese Coast Guard, which is launching a second search and rescue mission prior to an expected incoming typhoon.

"The Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for other missing crew using four rescue patrol boats, two airplanes, and divers from the Haneda Airbase Special Rescue Team," said POLO-Osaka.

The freighter was reported to have come from the port of Napier in New Zealand, and was heading to the port of Tangshan in China. DMS