Chinese police have arrested two Chinese students in connection with the robbery and murder of a family of four in Fukuoka, Japan, in June, a spokesman for the Public Security Ministry said in Beijing Wednesday.

Wang Liang, 21, was caught by police in Liaoyang city, of northeast China's Liaoning Province, on Aug. 19, and Yang Ning, 23, was arrested in Beijing on Aug. 27.

The suspects had allegedly admitted murdering private businessman Shinjiro Matsumoto and his wife and two children in the early hours of June 20 after robbing their home, with another Chinese student, Wei Wei, the spokesman said. Wei was arrested by Japanese police shortly after the murder.

On learning of the alleged involvement of the Chinese students in the crime on Aug. 15, Chinese police took swift measures to search for the suspects in case they might return to China. Wang, who went to study in Japan in 2002, and Yang, who went in 2000, returned to China on June 24, said the spokesman.

"Police in China and Japan will cooperate closely and work to bring all the facts to light as quickly as possible," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2003)