Japan/China: Chinese passenger held over brawl at Japanese airport

Japanese police have arrested a Chinese passenger after a brawl with staff at a Tokyo airport, the Chinese embassy in the Japanese capital said Friday. The embassy said the brawl erupted Wednesday at Narita International Airport after bad weather forced the cancellation of a budget airline’s flight to Shanghai, stranding 175 Chinese passengers. The carrier did not cover delay-related expenses so some of the passengers took the airline’s advice to book into a nearby hotel. But more than 100 others insisted on staying at the terminal because they did not want to pay extra for a hotel and food. Conflict broke out when airport staff tried to clear the facility, which by Japanese law must close at midnight. The embassy did not reveal details of the clash or the name of the airline, saying only that the passenger was still in custody on Friday afternoon and had access to a lawyer and translator. The embassy said the airline did not notify the passengers in Chinese about the airport’s nightly closure.<br/>