The heartwarming moment a diver kisses a giant fish called Yoriko he's been friends with for 25 YEARS after nursing her to health from the brink of death

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They say dogs are a man's best friend, but footage shows how one Japanese diver has forged a long-lasting friendship with a fish.

Hiroyuki Arakawa, 79, says he's been friends with the same odd-looking Asian sheepshead wrasse named Yoriko for the past 25 years.

He originally found her on the brink of death and took it upon himself to feed her five crabs a day for ten days until she built up strength.

They say dogs are a man's best friend, but one Japanese diver has forged a lasting friendship with a fish

As she recovered they formed a bond that would last for years to come.

Indeed, recent video footage shows the two unlikely friends hanging out together under the water.

Yoriko even lets Hiroyuki stroke her body and kiss her bulbous head. 

Meanwhile, the other fish scoot away in fear. 

Hiroyuki, who started diving when he was aged 18, says he thinks Yoriko has a very human-like face from a certain angle and he's sure she knows it's him.

Hiroyuki Arakawa says he's been friends with the same odd-looking Asian sheepshead wrasse named Yoriko for the past 25 years

Hiroyuki says he thinks Yoriko has a very human-like face from a certain angle and he's sure she knows it's him

He told Great Big Story: 'I guess she knows that I saved her and that I helped her when she was badly injured.

'I think anyone can get an animal's attention by feeding them.'

More than two decades since her early health problems, it appears that Yoriko is in good health.

There is little information on the Asian sheepshead wrasse's life expectancy. But it's known that they can reach up to 3.2ft long.

Hiroyuki pays Yoriko regular visits as he looks after an underwater religious shrine close to her stomping ground in Japan’s Tateyama Bay.

Reflecting on his long-running marine friendship, Hiroyuki concluded: 'I have an amazing sense of accomplishment in my heart.'

A study last year found that one species of fish was capable of facial recognition. 

There is little information on the Asian sheepshead wrasse's life expectancy. It's known, however, that they can grow up to 3.2ft in length 

Hiroyuki pays Yoriko regular visits as he looks after an underwater religious shrine close to her stomping ground in Japan’s Tateyama Bay

In the study, the tropical archerfish were shown two images of human faces on a monitor over their tank and were trained to choose one of them by spitting a jet of water at it.

When the face was mixed in with new faces they were able to correctly choose the face they had initially learned, even when more obvious features, such as head shape and colour, were removed from the images.

On average, the fish were highly accurate, picking out the correct face from up to 44 faces 81 per cent of the time, and 86 per cent of the time when facial features such as brightness and colour were standardised.

Commenting on the results, Dr Cait Newport, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said: 'Fish have a simpler brain than humans and entirely lack the section of the brain that humans use for recognizing faces. 

'Despite this, many fish demonstrate impressive visual behaviours and therefore make the perfect subjects to test whether simple brains can complete complicated tasks.'