Japan: China dumpling poisoning may be deliberate

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's health minister raised the possibility on Tuesday that someone had deliberately contaminated Chinese-made dumplings imported into Japan with pesticide in an incident that made 10 Japanese sick and sparked a food scare.

Japanese police have set up a joint task force to investigate the case on suspicion of attempted murder.

Both Tokyo and Beijing have called for close cooperation in investigating the case, which has prompted huge Japanese media coverage and health queries from nearly 4,000 people.

The mystery of the poison dumplings is a delicate matter for sensitive Sino-Japanese ties and a domestic headache for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, given criticism from media and opposition lawmakers that it took too long to alert the public.

"The circumstantial evidence suggests substantial possibility of criminality," Masuzoe told a news conference.

Investigators have yet to identify the source of the contamination in the latest furore over the safety of Chinese products ranging from tainted pet food to toothpaste.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao called on Japan and the Japanese media to look at the issue "calmly, scientifically and responsibly", and not jump to conclusions.

"Only a calm analysis of the whole situation will be beneficial to the investigation," he told a news conference.