We report a discovery of a new high redshift quasar at z = 5.96 , observed with the FOCAS long-slit spectrograph on board the Subaru telescope .
The spectrum shows strong and broad Ly \alpha +NV emission lines with a sharp discontinuity to the blue side .
A Ly \beta +OVI emission line is also detected , providing a consistent redshift measurement with the Ly \alpha +NV emission .
The QSO has an absolute magnitude of M _ { AB, 1450 } = -26.9 ( H _ { 0 } = 50 km s ^ { -1 } Mpc ^ { -1 } , q _ { 0 } = 0.5 ) .
The spectrum shows significant flux in the region 8000-8300 \AA and thus does not show a complete Gunn-Peterson trough in the redshift range 5.58 to 5.82 , along the line of sight to this z = 5.96 QSO .
Therefore the Universe was already highly ionized at z = 5.82 .