Beijing: China on Friday released on bail the
last of the four Japanese held for allegedly intruding into a
military zone without authorisation, an issue that had led to
a diplomatic row.
The State Security Bureau of Shijiazhuang City in
northern Hebei Province has instructed Sadamu Takahashi to
write a statement of repentance and removed residential
surveillance of him, official Xinhua newsagency said.
Sadamu Takahashi has left the place where he was
residing under surveillance after going through legal
procedures, it said.
The four Japanese were held on charges of intruding
into a Chinese military zone and illegally filming military
targets last month.
The other three were released on September 30. The
four, according to their Japanese construction company were in
Japan to dispose of some of the chemical weapons left behind
by Japanese army in the Second World War.
Their arrests took place after Japan detained the
skipper of a Chinese fishing vessel of off the disputed
Diaoyu/Senkaku islands last month which triggered off a
diplomatic spate between the two countries.
The three were released after Japan released the
skipper and the fourth one was released today.
The four work for a Tokyo-based construction and
urban redevelopment company, Fujita Corp., which said they
were preparing a bid for a project to dispose of chemical
weapons abandoned in China by the Japanese military at the end
of World War II.
The two countries were expected to have high level
talks soon to repair the damage to the bilateral ties as
agreed by Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao and his Japanese
counterpart, Naoto Kan at in informal meeting in Brussels.
PTI
