Chinese authorities have detained 21 Japanese missionaries over the past few weeks.
The missionaries were working in several southwestern provinces and in the northwestern autonomous region of Ningxia.
The detention of the 21 Christian group members is thought to be part of the Chinese authorities’ efforts to crack down on missionary work.
They are categorising missionary work as illegal activity.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Friday he was not aware of the details surrounding the detention.
He suggested media inquiries be directed to the “relevant government departments.
“China is a country with the rule of law,” Lu said.
While Beijing will protect the legal rights of all parties, Lu said “foreigners should abide by Chinese laws too and should not commit crimes.”
Five of the detainees have already returned to Japan, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The ministry did not say if they were deported.
The Japanese government has expressed interest in the detentions and has asked the Chinese government to deal with the detainees properly.
Last November China detained 19 Japanese nationals affiliated with a Christian group in the southeastern province of Guangdong.
All of them were later deported.
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