By MASAYUKI TAKADA/ Correspondent
February 23, 2022 at 17:30 JST
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing in 2012 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
BEIJING—The Japanese ambassador here visited the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest the temporary detainment of a Japanese diplomat by authorities in Beijing.
The Japanese Embassy in China said Ambassador Hideo Tarumi on Feb. 22 demanded an apology and measures to prevent a recurrence in his meeting with Wu Jianghao, assistant minister of foreign affairs.
According to the embassy, a Japanese diplomat was detained in Beijing on the afternoon of Feb. 21 and was later released.
The embassy said it sought to make a formal protest that day, citing a violation of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but it was delayed to the evening of Feb. 22 for the “convenience” of the Chinese government.
“The situation could seriously affect diplomatic activities in the future,” a source in the embassy said.
The source said the diplomat was “doing a regular diplomatic activity” but declined to go into detail.
The Chinese Embassy in Japan, in a statement issued on Feb. 23, said the diplomat in question was carrying out “an activity that is inappropriate for the (diplomat’s) status.”
Chinese authorities conducted an investigation and inquiry according to law, and Japan’s claim “is not acceptable,” the statement said.
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