Health of Chinese illegally detained by Japan confirmed

It has been confirmed that five Chinese nationals from Hong Kong illegally detained in Japan are in good condition, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday night.

Qin Gang made the remarks in response to a question from the press after a team of Chinese diplomats visited the them, who are among the 14 Chinese nationals illegally detained when going to the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea by Japanese police. They are the first to be sent to Naha, Okinawa.

Okinawa police arrested the Chinese nationals on suspicion of "illegal entry" after the Chinese arrived at the Diaoyu Islands via a Hong Kong fishing vessel on Wednesday to assert China's sovereignty to the islands.

Qin said the working group from the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Japan arrived in Okinawa at noon on Thursday and have contacted the families of the five to inform them of the detained Chinese nationals' situation.

"The group is working hard to visit the other nine Chinese nationals as soon as possible and urging the Japanese authorities to release all of the detained and return their vessel immediately," said the spokesman.