Japan to release Chinese boat captain

Japanese prosecutors said they will release the captain of a Chinese fishing boat whose 17-
day detention sent relations between Asia's two biggest economies to their worst level in five
years.

The announcement may defuse tensions that rose with the arrest after the boat collided with
two Japanese Coast Guard vessels on Sept. 7 near uninhabited islets claimed by both
countries. China cut off ministerial talks, and Premier Wen Jiabao this week called on Japan
to "immediately and unconditionally" release him or face further retaliation.

At the same time, questions over the timing may open Prime Minister Naoto Kan's
government to criticism that it backed down under Chinese pressure. Japan's call earlier this
week for "high level" talks to resolve the dispute was rejected.

 "The decision invites questions as to whether the authorities were deliberately ambiguous,"
said Yasunori Sone, a political science professor at Tokyo's Keio University. "This will prompt
criticism."

  Japan's top government spokesman sought to dispel any suggestion the national
government was involved in the decision to release the captain, who was being held in the
southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.