Japan was set to release a Chinese fishing boat captain as early as late Friday because his detention over a territorial dispute has strained bilateral relations, the transport ministry said.
The decision to release him was announced earlier in the day by the Naha Prosecutor's Office in Okinawa Prefecture.
The decision came roughly two weeks after Japan arrested Zhan Qixion, the 41-year-old skipper of a fishing boat that reportedly collided with Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea that are claimed by both nations.