China has detained two Japanese nationals on suspicion of smuggling banned goods, Tokyo said on Wednesday.
Japanese media reported that one case may involve rare-earth-related exports, a strategically important sector tightly controlled by Beijing.
What do we know about the charges?
Japan said Chinese authorities informed it that one citizen was detained in the northeastern port city of Dalian on May 18 on suspicion of violating a law covering the smuggling of goods banned from trade.
A second Japanese national was detained on the same allegation on May 25, Japan's top government spokesperson, Minoru Kihara, told reporters.
