LEAD: 4 Japanese detained in China are fine, no health problems+

BEIJING/SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Sept. 25 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING)
Four Japanese nationals detained in China for allegedly entering a military
zone in Hebei Province without permission are fine, the Japanese Embassy in
Beijing said Saturday after a meeting with them at a hotel in Shijiazhuang, the
Hebei provincial capital.
''All the four said they are fine with no health or other problems,'' the
embassy said in a press release. ''They asked us to tell their respective
families that they are fine.''
The embassy has requested China ''ensures humanitarian treatment and
appropriate procedures based on law'' for the four, who are employees of
Japanese construction company Fujita Corp., the release said.
The four were quoted as saying there was no violence involved when they were
detained Monday and later questioned by Chinese authorities.
But the Chinese authorities did not allow the diplomats to get detailed answers
from the four construction company employees about what they were doing when
they were detained or if they had in fact strayed into a military zone or
installation.
The diplomats and Chinese officials met together with the four from 3:15 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, the embassy said.
The four are Yoshiro Sasaki, 44, of Fujita's international business department,
Hiroki Hashimoto, 39, from its sales division and Sadamu Takahashi, 57, and
Junichi Iguchi, 59, from a local subsidiary.
They have been under ''residential surveillance,'' meaning they are likely
restricted at a hotel or other lodging facility in Shijiazhuang rather being in
a detention facility.
It is not immediately known if the hotel where the Japanese diplomats met the
four is where they have been staying.
Some observers suggested the Chinese action may be part of retaliatory steps
China took against Japan for Tokyo's earlier detention of a Chinese fishing
boat captain after a ship collision near disputed islets in the East China Sea.
It is uncertain how the release early Saturday morning of the Chinese skipper
would affect the situation for the four Japanese.
The four are believed to have visited the area in Hebei to inspect a potential
construction site for a plant that would process chemical weapons abandoned in
China by the Japanese military at the end of World War II.
Fujita said Friday it was unaware the place the four wanted to examine would be
in a Chinese military zone and added Saturday it has already relayed
information about the four to their families.
China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday the Chinese authorities
were questioning the four on suspicion of entering a military zone without
authorization and videotaping military facilities.
China strictly controls visitors in military-related areas.
While it is not uncommon for visitors who inadvertently take photos or video to
be detained, they are usually fined and freed the same day.
On Saturday, police were on high alert and restricted traffic around the
military controlled area outside Shijiazhuang where the four are believed to
have been detained.
==Kyodo
2010-09-25 22:29:23


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