Seeing that the situation was heating up, Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda made a special statement on the night of the 16th calling for calm and restraint on both sides so as to avoid disrupting historically friendly relations.
眼看事態走向激化，日本首相福田康夫 16 日晚間特地發表談話，呼籲台日雙方冷靜、克制，以免影響歷來友好的關係。