Four Japanese Citizens Detained in China for “Illegally Videotaping Military Targets”
Four Japanese employees of Fujita have been detained in China for videotaping “military targets”:
Four Japanese are being investigated in China for having entered a military zone without authorization and illegally videotaped military targets in northern Hebei Province, local state security authorities said Thursday.
The state security authorities in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, have taken measures against the four people according to law after receiving a report about their illegal activities.
The move is likely in response to Japan’s refusal to meet Chinese demands for the release of a Chinese trawler captain who rammed his ship into two Japanese patrol boats.
So far, China’s extreme attempts to punish Japan have failed to change the Japanese government’s position on this issue. The case of whether to release or to charge the trawler captain has been left in the hands of the public prosecutor’s office in Okinawa, which is supposed to be independent from political pressure.
China’s actions have led all the major newspapers to run editorials supporting the Japanese government. Even the Asahi Shimbun, which is generally known for a very pro-China stance, had this to say in a recent editorial:
Beijing is demanding the skipper’s immediate and unconditional release. China apparently hoped that Tokyo would exert prudent political judgment in resolving the matter. However, due to the nature of the incident, it makes perfect sense for Japan, a country of laws, to stick to its guns in calmly dealing with the issue in accordance with domestic law.
The Japanese patrol boats were acting as they always do in an area of sea that is administered by the Japanese government. When they were rammed by the trawler, they had no choice but to act in accordance with their legal duties and arrest the captain. When the Asahi points the fact that Japan is “a country of laws,” it is emphasizing the importance of an independent judiciary and the rule of law, something that does not exist in China.
The detaining of the Fujita employees may have been in response to an actual illegal act, but the timing of this action suggests that it was an arbitrary act of “law enforcement” meant to exert political pressure on Japan. Unless details emerge that clearly show that the Japanese were engaging in military espionage, this incident will probably only strengthen the view of Japanese who feel that their country should act in accordance with its legal principles.
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