A protester steps on a drawing of a Japanese national flag outside a building where the Japanese Consulate is located in Hong Kong August 15, 2012, after a group of Chinese activists were detained by Japanese authorities when they landed on an island chain disputed with Japan on Wednesday. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
HONG KONG/TOKYO (Reuters) - China demanded Japan immediately and unconditionally free 14 Chinese activists held over a protest landing on disputed islands on Wednesday, as tensions between Tokyo and its neighbours flared on the anniversary of the end of World War Two.
The landing by the activists on an island chain in the East China Sea and their detention by Japan's coast guard came on a day of regional diplomatic jousting, underscoring how history dogs Japan's ties with China and South Korea.
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