Freeing Nobel peace prize winner Liu 'desirable', says Japan's Kan

The comments reflect the diplomatic tightrope Tokyo must walk as it seeks to patch up ties with Beijing frayed by a diplomatic spat last month over a collision near disputed islands in the East China Sea.

"Basic human rights and freedom must be protected. From that standpoint, my view is that the release is desirable," Naoto Kan told fellow members of parliament.

The Nobel Committee honoured Liu last week for more than two decades of advocacy of human rights and peaceful democratic change that started in 1989 with the demonstrations at Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Liu, a 54-year-old literary critic, is now in the second year of an 11-year prison term after being convicted of inciting subversion over his role in writing an influential 2008 manifesto for political reform.

China has been infuriated by the prize, accusing other countries of using the award to attack Beijing and warning that it won't change the Communist nation's political course.

Last month Beijing broke off ministerial-level contacts with Tokyo over the dispute triggered by the arrest of a Chinese fishing captain after his vessel collided with two Japanese patrol boats near a string of tiny islands that Japan controls but China claims.