China has detained two Japanese citizens on suspicion of smuggling banned products, the Japanese government said on Wednesday, adding to rising tensions between the two countries.
The Japanese nationals were detained in May in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, according to a statement by Japan’s government. Chinese officials have indicated that they are being held on “on suspicion of violating the law and smuggling goods that are prohibited from being imported or exported,” Minoru Kihara, a top Japanese cabinet official, said at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
He added that Japan is working to “respond appropriately from the perspective of protecting Japanese nationals.”
Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the detentions on Wednesday, saying at a regular news conference in Beijing that the Japanese nationals were being held for “violating Chinese law.”
He did not provide details, saying only that the Japanese government “should educate and remind Japanese citizens and enterprises in China to abide by Chinese laws and regulations.”
Japanese news outlets reported that the detention appeared to be related to the export of rare earths — minerals that are used to make a range of essential technologies — by a Japanese firm operating in the mainland. But Japanese officials declined to provide further details, saying the matter was under investigation.
