By Takashi Hirokawa and Isabel Reynolds - 2012-08-17T03:17:47Z

Japan said it will deport 14 Chinese nationals arrested for visiting an island in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, defusing an incident that revived tensions between Asias two biggest economies.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the group of activists from Hong Kong were sent to immigration authorities to begin the deportation process. China demanded their release after they planted a Chinese flag on one of the islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

The arrests reignited bilateral animosity at a time when Japan is mired in a separate territorial dispute with South Korea. Both involve sovereignty over areas with energy reserves and all three countries are seeking to bolster domestic support ahead of leadership contests this year.

Standard rules of the road are to charge these people and release them to China, said Brad Glosserman, executive director of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Honolulu-based research institute. Were in the middle of political transition and uncertainty. Everyone needs to be dialing back their rhetoric.

The decision to deport the activists preceded a trip beginning tomorrow to the islands by a Japanese group including opposition lawmakers. The group is scheduled to arrive in the area by boat on Aug. 19 and will travel around the area without landing.

Territory is not just a physical thing, its also about sovereignty and pride, said Satoru Mizushima, the head of Ganbare Nippon, the group organizing its 10th tour around the uninhabited islands that are administered by Japan. The government should be in charge of this, but they are doing nothing, so China is making these claims.

Opposition Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Yoshitaka Shindo and Eriko Yamatani are among the group of about 150.

Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun called his Japanese counterpart yesterday and asked for the immediate release of the illegally arrested activists, according to a statement posted on Chinas Foreign Ministry website.

The collision of a Chinese fishing boat with two Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the islands in September 2010, sent bilateral relations to the lowest level in at least five years. The captain of the boat was detained for 17 days before being released.

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Japanese Group Heads to Disputed Islands After Chinese Arrested