The boy, He Risheng, had been kidnapped on Thursday near his home in Tokyo's Adachi Ward and held for a ransom of 15 million yen (US$120,500).

According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, police officers found the boy at about 4 a.m. local time inside a condominium in Yokohama. One man and three women were with the boy at the time and police arrested them on suspicion of kidnapping.

The four suspects include Wang Wengqin, a 30-year-old man from Fujian Province in East China. Information on the three female suspects has not yet been released.

The boy was unharmed and sleeping when he was rescued, police said.

Police received information on the location of the kidnappers from two men they found at 3:10 a.m. local time inside Yokohama's Yamashita Park, the designated place for the ransom delivery.

The two men were Chen Xiaofeng, a 24-year-old resident of Kobe's Nada Ward, and Chen Caixing, a 23-year-old of no fixed abode. They were arrested on the spot.

According to Japan's National Police Agency, it was the 251st kidnapping case in Japan since the end of World War II, and it was the 113th case involving a child aged 12 or younger.

The number of kidnappings in Japan has been rising recently. Kidnappers have often targeted foreigners in the country.

Four victims of 10 kidnapping cases last year were foreigners, the police agency said.

(China Daily June 10, 2002)