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Japan is set to deport 14 pro-China activists, who were arrested for sailing through disputed islands in the East China Sea, a move that will ease tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, government sources have said. Both the police and coast guard officials decided not to carry out further investigations against the 14 activists but to hand them over to immigration authorities for deportation, the sources added. According to the Japan Times, the vessel was chartered by a Hong-Kong-based activist group that wanted to hoist a flag on the island to assert China’s claim over the Japan-controlled islands. China had demanded that Japan free the activists, saying it was an act of illegal detention, the report added. The Taiwanes Foreign Ministry also urged Japan to quickly release the activists, saying the arrests are not conducive to regional peace and stability. The 14 activists, who were arrested for violating immigration law, were moved to Naha , Okinawa Prefecture . The coast guard was also set to investigate the protest vessel after towing it to the nearby Okinawa island of Ishigaki, the report added. Those arrested, include a Hong Kong TV reporter and cameraman, the coast guard said.

Japan to deport Chinese activists arrested for landing on disputed island