There are breaking reports that Japan has freed the captain of a Chinese fishing vessel who was arrested after his vessel collided with two Japan Coast Guard vessels in disputed waters over two weeks ago.
Since the collision, relations had deteriorated markedly between the East Asian giants.
"The Public Prosecutors Office today released the captain while suspending the decision on his charges," news agency NHK said. "The Chinese captain will be sent back to China."
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China had summoned the Japanese ambassador several times since Japan boarded the vessel and arrested the crew members on board. On the sidelines of a UN summit, the pair refused to hold talks. And yesterday, China was forced to deny reports that it had banned the export of technology-critical rare earth metals to its major trading partner.
After the decision, Nippon TV quoted the prosecutors office as saying: "We have decided that keeping him in detention isn't worth it, considering its effect on the public and the future of Japan-China relations."
East Asia Correspondent for Canada's Globe newspaper, Mark MacKinnon, called it a 'stunning climbdown' in his twitter feed.
"The message in Asia is that China gets is what China wants. Or else", he wrote.
The incident started when Japan's 1,300-ton patrol boat Yonakuni ordered the trawler to cease operations in disputed waters around a string of five small islands - known as Senkaku in Japan, Diaoyu in China, and Diaoyutai in Taiwan - which lies between Japan's far-southern Okinawa island and Taiwan.
The territory is long disputed.
