Japan will hold a Cabinet meeting Friday morning to discuss whether to release the 14 illegally detained Chinese.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura and Minister of Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba will attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, protesters took to the streets as disputes between Japan and neighbours South Korea and China took a turn for the worse, following a spate of incidents over islands disputed between the countries.

The protesters voiced their discontent against China, after the group of Chinese activists were arrested following their landing on Diaoyu Islands. In other parts of Tokyo however, the reaction was more subdued, with many worrying how the diplomatic flare-up could affect ties.

Tokyo saw its ties with Beijing deteriorate sharply in 2010 following its arrest of a Chinese skipper whose trawler collided with Japanese patrol boats near the islands. And many Japanese are unwilling to see another similar escalation.

Makoto Sato, Tokyo resident, said, "Right now we have many Chinese tourists coming to Japan, but those numbers could begin to dwindle, and it could become difficult for Japanese tourists to go to China."

Kazuhiro Kurihara, marketing executive, said, "I worry that overall relations between the countries could worsen. Even more, I am worried that if this matter is not handled delicately it could lead to armed conflict."

(CNTV.cn August 16, 2012)