Tokyo , Japan ( CNN ) -- A Japanese coast guard crew member has confessed to leaking a video of a boat collision that sparked a recent diplomatic battle between China and Japan , officials said Wednesday . It was unclear whether the crew member would be arrested for putting the video online , police said . The video , posted on YouTube , shows what is thought to be the Chinese fishing trawler ramming into a ship , thought to be a Japanese coast guard vessel . The crash video had not been released to the public and Japanese lawmakers were alarmed that it had been on the video-sharing website . `` The fact that the video was leaked is a big mistake for the government , '' Hiroshi Kawauchi , a legislator of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan , said last week . `` It is totally different from presenting it to the public in an official manner , and it leads the people 's further erosion of faith in Japan 's government . '' The September incident sparked a diplomatic squabble between the two nations . After the collision , Japan detained the crew of the Chinese fishing boat off the disputed islands in the East China Sea . China calls the islands the Diaoyu ; Japan calls them the Senkaku . In response to the detainments , China made increasingly aggressive diplomatic threats . Beijing also halted ministerial-level talks with Tokyo , and both sides canceled trips to each other 's nations . Japan has since released the fishing crew , which China says was stopped illegally . Japan initially accused the captain of obstructing Japanese public officers while they performed duties . But authorities later said that releasing him was in the interest of maintaining relations with China . Though the leaking of the video has alarmed Japanese officials , officials in China have questioned its accuracy . Some in the Chinese government dismissed the video saying it had been edited . CNN 's Kyung Lah contributed to this report .
Report of boat collision that started a diplomatic crisis between China and Japan . It is unclear whether the coast guard personnel will be arrested . Boat collision occurred in the East China Sea near the Okinawa islands .