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Japan deports activists in disputed islands row | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Japan has deported seven of 14 activists who sailed to disputed islands from Hong Kong, Japanese officials say. | |
The group left for Hong Kong from an airport in Okinawa, while the rest are expected to head back by boat. | |
The activists had sailed to islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China on Wednesday. | |
The case has sparked a diplomatic row and a number of small protests outside Japanese diplomatic missions in China. | |
It is the first time non-Japanese nationals have landed on the islands - which are controlled by Japan - since 2004. | It is the first time non-Japanese nationals have landed on the islands - which are controlled by Japan - since 2004. |
Seven activists left on a commercial flight from the southern island of Okinawa, while the others were flown to another island to take their boat with them, officials said. | |
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda had agreed to recommendations to send the group back, a top government spokesman said earlier. | |
Mr Noda, speaking ahead of a weekly cabinet meeting, said it was "extremely regrettable that they illegally smuggled themselves on to our island of Senkaku despite our repeated warnings not to". | |
Some opposition lawmakers, however, have criticised the move, saying that the activists should have faced criminal charges, says the BBC's Mariko Oi in Tokyo. | |
A group of 150 people are getting ready to sail from Japan's south-western island of Ishigaki to the disputed islands, reports the Agence-France Presse news agency. | |
The flotilla of 20 boats is expected to reach the islands on Saturday night. | |
Formal protests | |
China had repeatedly called for the activists' immediate release. Small groups of protesters also gathered outside Japanese diplomatic missions in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. | |
Both Japan and China lodged formal protests with each other over the incident, while the US urged the two nations to resolve the conflict peacefully. | Both Japan and China lodged formal protests with each other over the incident, while the US urged the two nations to resolve the conflict peacefully. |
Largely uninhabited, the islands are close to strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits. Taiwan also claims them. | Largely uninhabited, the islands are close to strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and are thought to contain oil deposits. Taiwan also claims them. |
Rows over the disputed islands have caused Sino-Japanese ties to freeze in the past. | Rows over the disputed islands have caused Sino-Japanese ties to freeze in the past. |
In September 2010, relations plummeted after the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain near the islands. | In September 2010, relations plummeted after the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain near the islands. |
The captain was accused of ramming two Japanese patrol vessels in the area, but Japan eventually dropped the charges against him. | The captain was accused of ramming two Japanese patrol vessels in the area, but Japan eventually dropped the charges against him. |