CNN has now picked up the story:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/10/2...pan/index.html

At Toyama, 255 km (158 miles) west of Tokyo, 167 people, including 102
trainees aged about 20, were being slowly taken to shore from their
ship.

The 2,556-tonne Kaio Maru ran aground during the storm. Three suffered
injuries such as broken wrists.

The ship was waiting out the typhoon when winds of 144 km/h (89 mph)
and high seas swept it onto the breakwater, an official at the National
Institute for Sea Training, its operator, told Reuters.

A Coast Guard official told the news agency: "Waves were crashing onto
the deck, making it impossible for the crew and trainees to get out
themselves."