Fisherman

Mitsuhiro Morita (35) was killed by a Russian patrol boat on August 16th 2006. Morita was a crew member of the Japanese crab boat Kyoshin Maru. The boat was illegally fishing for crab near the Russian Kuril islands. The Russian coast guard tried to stop the Kyoshin Maru several times, but the captain decided to run. The Russian patrol boat fired its guns as a warning, but hit Mr. Morita killing him accidentally they say.
One reason this incident has gotten so much attention is that Japan claims the waters the boat was in. The boat was fishing near the Kurils, or 'Northern Territories' as Japan calls them. Originally a home for the Ainu culture, Russia took control of the 4 islands at the end of WWII. Russia and Japan have never agreed on whose territory the Islands should belong to.
Luckily, both countries seem to view the killing of the fisherman as more of an accident than anything else so this problem may go away, but the greater problem of the Islands will probably not. The area is rich in resources and will help the economy of whichever country owns them.

BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4797021.stm

Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1851872,00.html

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuril_Islands_Dispute