China court says releases detained Japanese ship after payment

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court said on Thursday that it has released a ship owned by Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which had been seized in a contract dispute, after the Japanese firm paid up. China's Supreme Court said in a statement, carried on its official microblog, that the seizure order had been lifted as of 8:30 am (1:30 a.m. BST) Thursday. (Reporting by Li Hui and Ben Blanchard)