SHANGHAI: Eight people have died after a cargo ship capsized off the coast of Japan, six of whom were Chinese nationals, a government official told state broadcaster CGTN on Thursday.

The 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered "Jintian", which had a crew of 22 from China and Myanmar according to media reports, issued a distress call late on Tuesday, the Japanese coast guard said.

The vessel eventually sank 2.46 a.m. (1746 GMT on Tuesday), between Nagasaki and South Korea's Jeju island, according to the coast guard.

China's Consul General in the city of Fukuoka, Lu Guijun, told the state broadcaster that a search operation for 13 missing individuals had retrieved five individuals with non-life threatening conditions.

Hundreds of flights at Jeju island were cancelled on Tuesday due to harsh weather. Read full story

There was no immediate word on what caused the vessel to capsize. A coast guard spokesperson said winds were strong at the time.

Western parts of Japan were battered by winter storms that brought freezing, windy conditions earlier this week.