Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan waded into an acrimonious dispute over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fisherman yesterday, dismissing China’s demands for an apology and compensation as out of the question.
The row has bounced back and forth between the two sides with demands for an apology and rejections, illustrating the fragility of ties between Asia’s two biggest economies troubled by Chinese memories of wartime occupation and maritime territorial disputes.
Fishing trawler captain Zhan Qixiong (詹其雄) was released and arrived back in China on Saturday after his boat collided with Japanese patrol ships on Sept. 7 near disputed islets, known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. His trawler and crew had earlier been freed.
Kan reiterated his government’s stance that the Chinese demands for an apology and amends were groundless.
“Senkaku is a Japanese territory. From that point of view, apology or compensation is unthinkable,” he told reporters. “I have no intention at all of meeting [the demand].”
Tokyo came under criticism from domestic media for “caving in” to Chinese pressure by releasing the captain after China detained four Japanese, although Japanese officials have denied the linkage.
The four were detained on suspicion of violating the law regarding protection of Chinese military facilities, though the exact offense is not clear.
Japan’s former foreign minister said on Saturday that international perceptions of China would be hurt by its refusal to back down.
“It was our territory and there was no fault in arresting him in accordance with the law,” Katsuya Okada, secretary-general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, told public broadcaster NHK. “There have been views that this affair was a complete defeat for Japan, but this was a loss for China. China showed the world what kind of a country it is.”
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