(JIANG KEHONG)

Chinese skipper Zhan Qixiong (right, front) is welcomed by family members after arriving in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, on September 25 aboard a chartered plane. Zhan had been illegally detained by Japan since September 8 after his trawler and two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships collided in waters off China's Diaoyu Islands the preceding day.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement the Chinese Government expressed "strong protest" against Japan, whose detention, investigation or any form of judicial measures taken against the trawler and fishermen were unlawful and invalid.

China has asked Japan to apologize and make compensation for the incident. The ministry said the two sides should resolve the problems in the Sino-Japanese relationship through dialogue and consultation.