TOKYO � Japanese prosecutors decided Friday to release the captain of a Chinese fishing boat involved in a collision near disputed islands whose detention raised tensions between the Asian neighbors.
Beijing has angrily demanded that the captain be released and cut off ministerial-level talks with Japan as relations between the two countries spiraled to their worst level in years.
Prosecutors in southern Japan, where the captain has been in custody for more than two weeks, said they would let him go, citing the damage done to relations with China. It was unclear when authorities would release him.
The case was still pending, but it looked increasingly unlikely that charges would be filed.
The 41-year-old captain, Zhan Zixiong, was arrested on Sept. 8 after his fishing trawler collided with Japanese coast guard vessels near a string of islands in the East China Sea called Diaoyu or Diaoyutai in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese.
Located 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Taiwan, the islands are controlled by Japan, but also claimed by Taiwan and China. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are regularly occupied by nationalists from both sides.
The arrest sparked anti-Japanese protests in numerous locations around China, and the dispute affected cultural and diplomatic ties. On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao threatened "further action" against Japan if it did not release the captain immediately.
Security remained tight around the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Friday. Soldiers and police stood watch for several blocks surrounding the building, with SWAT team, paramilitary and riot police vans parked nearby.
At a news conference, prosecutors in Naha, Okinawa, said Zhan was "just a fishing boat captain" and had no criminal record in Japan. They did not perceive any premeditated intent to damage the patrol boats, said Toru Suzuki, the office's vice prosecutor.
"We have decided that further investigation while keeping the captain in custody would not be appropriate, considering the impact on the people of our country as well as the Japan-China relations in the future," he said.
It was a holiday in China on Friday, and telephone calls to the Foreign Ministry were not answered.
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Associated Press writer Anita Chang contributed to this report from Beijing.
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