While many Japanese feel Tokyo 'caved in' to Chinese pressure by releasing the trawler skipper at the centre of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute, it is actually calculated diplomacy. Indeed, all of Japan's manoeuvres were intended to convey the impression that the islands are Japanese territory under domestic law.
It is useful to put this into context. In 2004, seven members of the China Federation for Defending the Diaoyu Islands landed on Uotsuri, one of Diaoyu islands. Japan deported them after only two days of detention.
In contrast, the Chinese captain in the current case was detained for two weeks, and extensive references were made by Japan to domestic laws. On September 22, following Beijing's announcement that it would suspend high-level bilateral official exchanges, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said that the case was a legal matter, and Japan would try to convince China to understand how Japan's judicial and political system works.
An editorial in the Asahi newspaper on the same day said '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'.
This line of argument is reminiscent of a recent article by Beijing-based blogger Yoshikazu Kato, who writes regularly in a FT Chinese column. Kato said the fishing boat incident was a good opportunity for Chinese to learn about how the Japanese executive and judicial system operates. China needed to understand that the incident involved judicial as well as diplomatic issues, he said. Kato also praised the Chinese government for constraining extreme nationalists.
Kato's article was strongly refuted by Zhang Wen, a leading Chinese journalist and media commentator, who wondered how Japan could employ domestic laws when the sovereignty of the islands was in dispute. Furthermore, Zhang accused Kato of having a hidden agenda, of trying to use the Chinese government to clamp down on Chinese nationalism.
Aggressive as it might be to Chinese eyes, Japan's attitude could be interpreted as an ideational aspect of its statecraft. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. And as de facto owner of the islands, Japan's employment of domestic laws could further help its claim to legitimacy. It should be noted that authorities in Okinawa have not officially closed the Chinese captain's case.