By AFP and Focus | 2026-02-13

TOKYO -- Japan February 12 seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, an incident that could deepen a spat between the Asian giants.

The episode off southern Japan came three months after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force. She described such a contingency as a "survival-threatening situation."

Japan's fishery agency said it ordered the vessel's captain to stop for an inspection but that the boat "failed to comply and fled."

"Consequently, the vessel's captain was arrested on the same day," the agency said in a statement.

Identified as the Qiong Dong Yu 11998, the boat was inside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone 89.4 nautical miles (166km) south-southwest of Meshima island in the Goto archipelago, off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture.

The vessel is understood to be based in Basuo, Hainan island, China, and had been catching mackerel and horse mackerel, according to local media.

First seizure since 2022

China swiftly reacted, calling for Japan to respect the safety and rights of the Chinese crew. It was the first time since 2022 that the Japanese fishery agency has seized a Chinese fishing boat.

Japan identified the skipper as Chinese national Zheng Nianli, 47. He and the other 10 crew members were released on February 13 after China guaranteed payment of cash collateral.

"To prevent illegal fishing operations by foreign vessels, we will continue to take firm action and engage in enforcement activities," chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.

Agricultural Minister Norikazu Suzuki issued a nearly identical statement, underscoring a unified government position to "deter illegal operations."

China has a number of territorial disputes with Japan, and there have been repeated incidents around the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China.

The 2010 arrest of another Chinese fishing boat captain off those islands became a major diplomatic incident. Tokyo eventually released that captain without charges.

The Taiwan spat

Japan and China have close economic ties, but Takaichi's comments about Taiwan have sent relations spiralling downward again. China has long insisted that Taiwan, occupied by Japan from 1895 until 1945, is its territory and has not ruled out force to achieve "reunification."

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te told AFP in an interview this week that other countries -- including Japan -- would be China's next targets should Beijing seize the democratic island. "The next countries under threat would be Japan, the Philippines and others in the Indo-Pacific region," Lai said.

After Takaichi's comments, Beijing summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia. In December, J-15 jets from China's Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft in international waters near Okinawa.

China also tightened controls on exports to Japan for items with potential military uses, fueling worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals. China even took back Japan's last two pandas last month.

A hawkish leader

Takaichi, 64, was seen as a China hawk before becoming Japan's first woman prime minister in October. She won a landslide victory in snap elections in early February, putting her in a strong position for the next four years to stamp her mark on Japanese domestic and foreign policy.

Takaichi said February 9 that under her leadership Japan -- which hosts some 60,000 US military personnel -- would bolster its defenses and "steadfastly protect" its territory. She also said that she was "open to various dialogues with China."

But China's Foreign Ministry said "genuine dialogue should be built on respect for one another."

"If Japan truly wants to develop a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship with China, it's very easy and clear: withdraw Takaichi's erroneous remarks about Taiwan," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said February 10.