PUBLISHED : 13 Feb 2026 at 09:58
This handout photo taken on Thursday from Japan’s Fisheries Agency shows Fisheries Enforcement Headquarters’ fisheries patrol vessel “Hakuo Maru”, left, and a Chinese fishing vessel sailing within Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki Prefecture. (Photo: Handout)
TOKYO — Japanese authorities have seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its captain for allegedly fleeing inspection in its exclusive economic zone, an incident that could further inflame tensions between Asia’s top two economies.
The captain, a 47-year-old Chinese national, was arrested on Thursday and stands accused of trying to evade an on-board inspection by a Japanese fisheries control officer about 170 kilometres southwest of the island of Meshima in Goto, Nagasaki, Japan’s fisheries agency said.
According to the agency’s office for the Kyushu region, the boat had a crew of 11.
While Japan has seized fishing vessels from South Korea and Taiwan in recent years, the incident is the first involving a vessel from China since 2022 and comes against the backdrop of a major diplomatic dispute between the countries.
“We will continue to take resolute action in our enforcement activities to prevent and deter illegal fishing operations by foreign vessels,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular press conference on Friday.
In 2024, the agency conducted seven on-board inspections, seized a Taiwanese fishing boat and had 18 cases in which illegal fishing gear was confiscated, according to its annual report.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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