As CDT posted last night, the Chinese fishing boat captain who had been detained by the Japanese for a collision in disputed waters has been released. From Al Jazeera:
Japan has released a Chinese fishing boat captain whose arrest two weeks ago sparked the worst row between the nations in years, Japanese media reports say.
Prosecutors earlier on Friday cited the damage already done to relations with Beijing as a factor behind their decision to free Zhan Qixiong.
The Chinese captain was due to fly directly back to China via charter jet after being set free in the small town of Ishigaki, where he was being held.
Japanese authorities detained Zhan after his trawler collided with two Japanese coast guard vessels near a string of contested islands in the East China sea on September 8.
See also “China fishing boat captain to be freed by Japan. Will it ease tensions?” from the Christian Science Monitor.
