"The vessel's captain was ordered to stop for an inspection by a fisheries inspector, but the vessel failed to comply and fled," Japan's fisheries agency said.

"Consequently, the vessel's captain was arrested on the same day," according to a statement.

The incident happened on Thursday inside Japan's exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki Prefecture, 89.4 nautical miles south-southwest of the island of Meshima, it added.

It was the first time since 2022 that the agency has seized a Chinese fishing boat.

The skipper is a 47-year-old Chinese national. There were 11 people on board including the captain.

The agency conducts on-board inspections and other operations in waters around Japan.

It said that it seized two foreign fishing vessels last year, one Taiwanese and the other South Korean, Kyodo News reported.

In 2024, the agency conducted seven on-board inspections, seized a Taiwanese fishing boat and had 18 cases in which fishing gear was confiscated, Kyodo added.

In November, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enraged China by suggesting that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.

China has long insisted that Taiwan, occupied for decades by Japan until 1945, is its territory and has not ruled out force to achieve "reunification".

Beijing summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned its citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia.

Japan's last two pandas were even returned to China last month.

China also tightened controls on exports to Japan for items with potential military uses, fuelling worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals.

In addition Beijing reportedly suspended imports of Japanese seafood.