A Chinese man who crashed into the sea in an attempt to land a hot-air balloon on disputed islands claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo has been picked up and handed over to Chinese authorities, officials said Thursday.
The man, identified as 35-year old chef Xu Shuaijun, was heading to an East China Sea island chain controlled by Japan, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
The man had been handed to a Chinese patrol ship, the coast guard said.
The islands are close to potential oil and gas reserves, and are a source of tension between the two countries.
The Japanese Coast Guard said they received a request to search for a missing person on Wednesday afternoon.
They found the man and the hot air balloon around 20km (12 miles) from the islands. The man was not hurt, reports said.
They said the man was in Japanese territorial waters, but decided against pursuing charges as they could not determine the exact place he had landed, Japan’s news agency reported.
The islands have been a source of tension between China and Japan for decades.