China must apologise for temporarily detaining embassy employee: Japan
- Chinese diplomat in Tokyo summoned over incident which ‘clearly violated’ Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
- Japanese foreign ministry says the staff member was on legitimate official business but China’s embassy disagrees
Japan has demanded an apology after one of its diplomatic staff in Beijing was temporarily detained by Chinese authorities on Monday.
“We cannot overlook [the incident] and will never accept it,” the Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
Foreign vice-minister Takeo Mori summoned Yang Yu, charge d’affaires ad interim of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, to the ministry on Tuesday night to demand an apology, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.
But the embassy refused to accept the protest, releasing a statement on Wednesday that said the Japanese diplomat in Beijing had been investigated and questioned in accordance with the law after acting inappropriately, without elaborating.
It added that Japan should respect China’s laws and strictly manage the behaviour of its diplomats.
The statement was released after Mori’s meeting with Yang, in which he said the incident clearly violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.