Defiant Japan releases Chinese fisherman

JAPAN yesterday refused to apologise for detaining a Chinese boat captain despite his release in a bitter territorial dispute between the two Asian powers.

The fishing trawler captain, Zhan Qixiong, was flown out of Japan to the coastal Chinese city of Fuzhou yesterday. His release followed the detention of four Japanese nationals on suspicion of violating Chinese law regarding the protection of military facilities, though Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshito Sengoku has denied the two events were linked.

China's foreign ministry said Beijing was angry at the detention of the captain, arrested by Japan over two weeks ago after his trawler collided with two patrol boats in waters near islands that both sides claim. China, meanwhile, demanded an apology and compensation.

China said its claim to the islands - which it calls the Diaoyu and Japan calls the Senkaku - was "indisputable", but Japan did not agree. "There is no territorial issue that needs to be resolved over the Senkaku," Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement. "China calling for an apology or compensation is groundless and is absolutely not acceptable."

China's statement had said that the two countries should solve their disputes through dialogue. Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan also said it was time for Asia's two biggest economies to put relations back on a steady footing. "I believe it is necessary for Japan and China to handle matters calmly," he said in New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly.

The dispute has underscored the brittleness of ties long troubled by Chinese memories of Japanese wartime occupation and territorial disputes over parts of the East China Sea, an area many believe could hold rich oil and gas reserves. Last week, China also moved to block exports of rare minerals to Japan, used in car production.