"Based on the investigations so far, we have reached the opinion that it was not a terror event, but the prosecution is still investigating, " he said.

By counting each e-mail sent by a white-collar wrongdoer as a separate case of wire fraud, prosecutors can threaten him with a gargantuan sentence unless he confesses, or informs on his boss.

No one on the standing committee of a local people' s congress at or above the county level shall hold office in state administrative, judicial and procuratorial organs.

Under the agreement, military suspects do not have to be handed over to local authorities until charged by Japanese prosecutors.

One way out of the imbroglio, suggests a Japanese diplomat, might be for the government to ask prosecutors to impose a nominal fine on the captain and release him.