Japan seizes Chinese fishing vessel, arrests captain

Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, an incident that could deepen a spat between the Asian giants.



The episode on Thursday off southern Japan came three months after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.



According to Japan's Fisheries deparment "The vessel's captain was ordered to stop for an inspection by a fisheries inspector, but the vessel failed to comply and fled," .



The boat was inside Japan's exclusive economic zone 166km south-southwest of Meshima island in the Goto archipelago, Japan's statement said - not a disputed area.



China was yet to comment.



It was the first time since 2022 that the agency has seized a Chinese fishing boat.



The status of the other 10 people on board the vessel, named the Qiong Dong Yu, was unclear.