'Three Japanese leave China amid row'

Three Japanese nationals who were detained in China amid a heated territorial row left the country today to return home, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported, while a fourth remained in custody.

Three Japanese nationals who were detained in China amid a heated territorial row left the country on Friday to return home, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported, while a fourth remained in custody.

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The four men were detained on September 20 for allegedly filming a military site at a time when Beijing and Tokyo have been embroiled in their worst confrontation in years, centred on a disputed island chain in the East China Sea.

Kyodo News agency reported that the three freed Japanese construction workers left a Shanghai airport for Japan, a day after China released them, while keeping their 57-year-old colleague Sadamu Takahashi for further questioning.