The Japanese Foreign Ministry claims the staffer was temporarily detained while on official business despite having disclosed his status at the embassy. After exchanges between the ministry and Chinese authorities, the staffer was released.
Reports indicate the staffer was not physically harmed. At present, the reasons for their detention remains unknown.
The Japanese government is said to have made a complaint through diplomatic channels. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters, "We cannot overlook (the incident) and will never accept it."
Takeo Mori, Japan’s vice foreign minister, summoned Yang Yu, an interim Chinese diplomat within the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, to Japan’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday night as a result of the incident.
Mori insisted that China apologize for the detainment and take measures to avert a recurrence. Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the incident was a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Japan Times reported that the a similar incident took place in 2002, when a Japanese defense attache was detained by Chinese official for over 10 hours.