It was moored at Hachinohe in the Aomori prefecture when the tsunami hit last year.

CNN: U.S. Coast Guard sinks Japanese boat washed away by tsunami

The building of a reprocessing plant at Rokkashomura, in Aomori prefecture, has been disappointingly slow.

ECONOMIST: Japan and Britain

It was centered on Aomori and Iwate prefectures on the northeast end of Honshu, Japan's main island.

NPR: Top Of The News

Like so many of the people in this part of Japan, he is immediately welcoming, calling down in his heavy Aomori dialect.

BBC: Tackling northern Japan's record snow

The vessel, which was used for squid fishing, was moored at Hachinohe in the Aomori prefecture when the tsunami hit, Japanese authorities said.

CNN: U.S Coast Guard sinks Japanese fishing trawler near Alaska

As with other pieces of early Japanese pottery, one feature of the Aomori find is the exquisite rope-like pattern pressed into its surface for decoration.

ECONOMIST: A potted history

But the bigger significance of the Aomori discovery lies elsewhere.

ECONOMIST: A potted history