Gov't not to release collision video for time being+

TOKYO, Oct. 8 Kyodo -
The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan will for the time being
not release the video footage of last month's collision between a Chinese
trawler and a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat in the East China Sea, political
sources said Friday.
The stance reflects concerns that its release would further damage Japan-China
relations, which soured after the arrest and detention of the Chinese trawler
captain by Japanese authorities, the sources said.
Bilateral tensions appear to be slowly easing, as seen by the recent departure
of two Chinese fisheries monitoring ships from the waters near disputed
islands, after the leaders of the two countries held talks earlier this week.
If parliament adopts a resolution calling for the release of the footage, the
government may show it only to a small number of lawmakers, such as executive
members of the Budget Committees of both chambers of parliament, the sources
said.
''Investigative authorities will make an appropriate decision based on the
current state of the investigation and requests from the Diet,'' Prime Minister
Naoto Kan said at the plenary session of the House of Councillors in the
morning.
The footage, recorded by the Coast Guard, is believed to show that the Chinese
fishing boat rammed into the Coast Guard boat.
The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, a
coalition partner of the DPJ, have called for the release of the video, while
the smaller opposition New Komeito party appears less willing.
''Making it public at this stage would cause various problems,'' New Komeito
leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said earlier.
During the Diet session, Kan also said that his government will maintain the
policy of not allowing anyone to enter the islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa
Prefecture, in line with the intention of their owners from whom the government
is leasing the islands.
''Japan effectively controls the islands and will continue to take all possible
measures to maintain their security,'' he said.
Kan was opposed to summoning prosecutors from the Naha District Public
Prosecutors Office to the Diet to explain how they reached their decision to
release the Chinese trawler captain.
''It may adversely affect the independence of prosecutors in their
investigations,'' the premier said in response to a question from an opposition
lawmaker.
On a disputed gas field in the East China Sea, Economy, Trade and Industry
Minister Akihiro Ohata said that the government will take countermeasures if it
confirms that China has begun extraction work at the gas field.
Last month, China transported what appeared to be drilling equipment to an
offshore facility under development at the gas field, which is known in Japan
as Shirakaba and in China as Chunxiao.
In June 2008, the two countries agreed that Japanese companies would invest in
the development of the gas field, work that China had already commenced.
''We would have no choice but to determine that China's extraction work, if
confirmed, runs counter to the Japan-China agreement and will take appropriate
action,'' Ohata said during the plenary session, adding that Tokyo will
continue to press China to refrain from proceeding with the development
unilaterally.
The collision occurred on Sept. 7 while the fishing boat was being chased and
ordered to stop for an inspection, after it was allegedly caught fishing within
Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands, also claimed by China,
which refers to them as Diaoyu.
The captain was arrested on suspicion of obstructing Coast Guard members from
performing their duties by ramming his trawler into their boat.
While the captain was released on Sept. 25, pending prosecution, China
continues to hold one of four Japanese who are alleged to have entered a
military-controlled area in the country.
==Kyodo
2010-10-09 00:24:19