Russia Wednesday released two Japanese fishermen held since their boat was seized for allegedly fishing in Russian waters in an incident in which one crewman was killed, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

The Russians handed over the fishermen Akiyoshi Kawamura and Haruki Kamiya Wednesday afternoon, said Shunji Yamada, an official in the Foreign Ministry's Russia bureau.

The handover took place after Russian and Japanese officials met aboard a Japanese fisheries patrol boat near Kunashiri Island, Yamada said. The two arrived at Nemuro port on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido later in the day.

"I'm very sorry to have caused a fuss," Kawamura said on a nationally televized press conference following his return.

The captain, Noboru Sakashita, 59, who has reportedly assumed all blame for his boat's alleged violation into Russian territory, will remain in Russian custody for the time being, he said.

A Foreign Ministry official said he welcomed the return of the two fishermen but urged Russia to return Sakashita.

"It's problematic the captain and the boat were not handed over. We will continue to strongly make demands to Russia for their swift release," ministry press officer Mitsuo Sakaba told reporters in Tokyo.

On August 16, a Russian coast guard boat fired at the Japanese vessel that was allegedly trespassing in Russian waters off Hokkaido, killing a Japanese crab fisherman.

Russian authorities seized the fishing boat, along with its captain and the two crew members.

The incident took place near the southernmost of four disputed islands that are claimed both by Japan and Russia, called the southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.

(China Daily August 31, 2006)