Japan Seizes Chinese Fishing Boat, Adding to Strained Ties

The Chinese fishing boat, right, seized by Japan’s Fisheries Agency's vessel.

Source: Japan's Fisheries Agency

Japan said it seized a Chinese fishing vessel and arrested its captain after the ship entered the nation’s exclusive economic zone and sought to avoid inspection, adding a fresh complication to strained ties between the two Asian giants.

The captain was arrested around 12:23 p.m. on Thursday after the vessel entered Japan’s EEZ off the coast of Nagasaki prefecture and tried to flee to avoid questioning, Japan’s Fisheries Agency said in a statement. The seizure was the first of a Chinese fishing vessel since 2022, the agency said.