Three Japanese questioned

SEMARANG: Immigration officials here have been questioning three Japanese tourists who took part in an antinuclear demonstration in nearby Jepara on Sunday.

The three Japanese, identified as Eri Kimura, 23, Sato Daisuke, 32, and a woman named Inoue Yoko, 27, took part in a demonstration near the site where the government plans to build a nuclear plant.

Quoting an immigration official, Antara reported that the three tourists misused their tourist visas for political purposes with activists of Anti-Nuclear Indonesian Society.

"The Japanese came to Indonesia to take part in the demonstration. They brought in T-shirts with antinuclear messages," an immigration official said.

However, the official's theory was challenged by local activist Joni Simanjuntak. "They came as tourists. They just happened to be there when the demonstration took place." (pan)