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Download Beijing urged Tokyo on Wednesday to immediately and unconditionally release 14 Chinese nationals held over a landing on islands belonging to China. In a meeting with Japan's ambassador to Beijing and a phone call with a Japanese official, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Fu Ying "demanded that Japan ensure the safety of 14 Chinese nationals and immediately and unconditionally release them", the Foreign Ministry said on its website. Fu also "made solemn representations on Japan's unlawful detention of Chinese nationals on the Diaoyu Islands", the ministry website said. Tension between Japan and its Asian neighbors rose sharply on Wednesday, the 67th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, after Japanese ministers visited a shrine in Tokyo, against the advice of their prime minister, that honors war criminals. As news broke on Wednesday of the arrests and the shrine visit, a group of swimmers from the Republic of Korea made it to the Dokdo Islands. The islands are called Takeshima in Japan and Tokyo disputes their sovereignty. How Tokyo handles the detained activists will determine if the situation escalates, experts said. It seems the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is trying to avoid triggering a more serious response from Beijing, they said. Japan arrested the activists on suspicion of "illegal entry" after they landed on the Diaoyu Islands, according to Okinawa police. | 
