Tokyo: Japan set free the detained captain of a Chinese fishing vessel, raising hopes of an end to an ugly confrontation with Beijing.
The captain had been held on charges of ramming two Japanese coast guard cutters off the disputed Senkaku islands. His crew had been repatriated to China earlier.
But Japan continued to detain the captain pending completion of investigations. Beijing had threatened severe consequences and reportedly blocked the supply of strategic minerals to Japan.
The decision reflected consideration for Sino-Japanese ties, a prosecutor from Naha city on Japan's southern Okinawa island told a news conference, parts of which were broadcast on Japanese TV.
"It is a fact that there was the possibility that Japan-China relations might worsen or that there were signs of that happening," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told a news conference. "Our ties are important and both sides must work to enhance our strategic and mutual beneficial relations."
The release followed the detention of four Japanese nationals who were being investigated on suspicion of violating Chinese law regarding the protection of military facilities, although Japan's top government spokesman denied a link between the two matters.
Japanese prosecutors have not said when the captain will be released, but China said it was sending a chartered plane on Friday to bring him back.
"The Chinese government will welcome this," said Liu Jiangyong, an expert on Japan at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "I think this will be a turning point, a symbolic step, that will now ease the tensions that have risen between China and Japan."
But he added: "But the basic issue of jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands is a long-term issue that won't be resolved for a long time. That issue will remain and dealing with it will test the wisdom of politicians on both sides."
With inputs from Reuters
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