A Japanese daily says that Japanese diplomatic missions in China have stopped protecting North Korean defectors.

The Yomiuri Shimbun says that under China's tacit consent, Japan recently admitted five North Korean defectors into Japan who had sought refuge at the Japanese consulate general in Shenyang, China.

However, the daily says that Tokyo has recently accepted Beijing's request asking to no longer protect North Korean escapees.

The paper reported an incident in March when a North Korean defector's call for protection through a Japanese mission was refused.