China disputes Japan detention of activists

China said it would lodge a complaint with Japan after it detained Chinese activists who landed on a disputed island and raised a flag yesterday, as tension between Japan and its neighbours escalated on the anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The landing by the activists on an island chain in the East China Sea and their detention by Japan’s coastguard came on a day of regional diplomatic jousting, underscoring how history haunts Japan’s ties with China and South Korea.

Earlier, South Korea prompted an official protest from Japan after comments by South Korean president Lee Myung-bak which some saw as going too far by insulting Japanese Emperor Akihito.