China demands release of activists detained by Japan

Beijing demanded that Japan’s coast guard release 14 Chinese activists who were detained after attempting to protest on the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands Wednesday, Reuters reported. Japan said it had detained five protesters who landed on an island and later arrested nine more on the activists’ boat. Fu Ying, China’s vice foreign minister, spoke on the phone with a Japanese official and “demanded that Japan ensure the safety of the 14 Chinese nationals and immediately and unconditionally release them,” China’s foreign ministry said. Tensions between Japan and its neighbors flared this week as the region commemorated the end of World War II. On Tuesday South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said that Japanese Emperor Akihito must apologize for atrocities committed during the war if he wishes to visit South Korea. Japan’s foreign ministry responded that Akihito has done much to repair relations in the region over the past two decades.