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| A hot-air balloon carrying a Chinese man lands in the water near the disputed islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyus in China, in the East Sea, January 1, 2014 |
The 35-year-old took off from Fujian province on Wednesday morning, aiming to land on one of the Tokyo-controlled islands, known as the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyus in Chinese, the coastguard official said.
But he sent a rescue request when he got into trouble near the islands in the East Sea hours later, the official said.
A Japanese rescue helicopter found the balloon 22 kilometres (14 miles) south of the islands and rescued the man, who was unhurt, the official said. He was handed over to a Chinese patrol ship outside territorial waters.
Chinese and Taiwanese activists have tried to land on the islands by ship several times but been blocked by the Japanese coastguard.
Regional tensions rose in late November when China abruptly declared a new Air Defence Identification Zone over the East Sea, including the disputed islands.
