Japan and China agreed Thursday to cooperate further in combating organized international crimes, such as drug smuggling and the illegal entry of Chinese citizens into Japan, Foreign Ministry officials said.

In a two-day meeting in Tokyo on international crimes, Japan hailed China's efforts to stop groups of Chinese stowaways coming into Japan, with the number of arrests having fallen sharply to 74 as of the end of November from 699 a year earlier.

The meeting is the second of its kind following talks in Beijing in December of last year. The two countries agreed to hold regular talks regarding cooperation in the fight against international crimes during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Japan in November 1998.

In an attempt to combat the problem of stowaways, China has introduced a new law that imposes a prison term of up to one year and a fine for anyone sent back to China after being detected by Japanese immigration or customs officials, the officials said.

Prior to the law's creation, a warning and a fine of up to 5,000 yen were the only punishments available, they said.

While the illegal entry of groups of Chinese stowaways from vessels have dropped sharply, the number of more sophisticated illegal entries by individuals -- including the use of forged passports -- is rising, the officials said, adding that the two countries have agreed to enhance cooperation to address such cases.