Japan on Friday ratcheted up the pressure on China to hand over five North Korean asylum seekers who were dragged out of the Japanese consulate in Shenyang two days earlier by trespassing Chinese police.
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi summoned Chinese Ambassador Wu Dawei to the Foreign Ministry, demanded that China apologize over the incident and reiterated Japan's demand for a quick handover.
"There is a very strong reaction to this incident in Japan," Kawaguchi was quoted as telling Wu. "If China takes longer to deal with the matter, it would not only affect Japan-China relations but also affect how the rest of the world evaluates China's human rights record."