Three men have been arrested in Japan for attempting to smuggle hermit crabs out of the country.

The suspects, aged 24, 26 and 27, and widely identified in Japanese media as being Chinese nationals, were detained on Amami, a southerly island where the spiral-shelled crustaceans are a protected species.

Authorities were alerted to the men’s live cargo when hotel staff, who had been asked to look after their luggage, noticed the suitcases making a “rustling noise”, police told local media.

Officers subsequently discovered “thousands” of hermit crabs, weighing around 95kg. The third man was found to have a further 65kg in another set of three suitcases.

“Our investigation is ongoing to identify whether they had [the crabs] to sell them, or to keep them as pets, or to eat them,” a police spokesman told the news agency AFP following the arrests on Wednesday. “We are reviewing all possibilities.”

Police said the hermit crabs were “a national treasure”, being a part of Amami Island’s plant and animal diversity.

Hermit crabs – so named because they scavenge shells to live in – can regularly be seen on the beaches of the popular tourist destination.

The crabs can be worth up to ¥20,000 (£103), according to the Japan Times.

European leaders have called US President Donald Trump to discuss proposals for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine from Monday while on a visit to Kyiv.

The call came after leaders of the so-called “coalition of the willing” held a meeting to discuss advancing peace talks.

The leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland were hosted in person by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, while others joined remotely.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the coalition backed a “full and unconditional” ceasefire – originally mooted by Trump – and that the EU was ready to “impose further biting sanctions” if it was broken.

The presence of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish PM Donald Tusk and new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Ukrainian capital was a symbolic response to the more than 20 leaders who joined Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

In a joint statement ahead of the visit, they said they “will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion”.

The leaders added: “Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

A 30-hour ceasefire, unilaterally called by Putin to mark Russia’s Victory Day, is due to end on Saturday. It has seen a decrease in fighting but both sides have accused the other of breaches.

The “coalition of the willing” was formed to reinforce any eventual peace agreement with security guarantees, including the possibility of placing troops in Ukraine.

Trump earlier reiterated the call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire after a phone call with Zelensky.

“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions,” he wrote on social media.

As the meeting was going on, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was already “used to sanctions” and knew how to minimise their impact, adding: “There is no point in trying to scare us with these sanctions.”

Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, told the European allies to “shove these peace plans”.

Other leaders who joined the meeting remotely included Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian PM Mark Carney, von der Leyen, and Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato.

Reports of Russian attacks across Ukraine continue, despite Russia’s claims of a temporary ceasefire.

In northern Sumy region, an 85-year-old woman was killed, three others were injured, 19 residential homes and 10 other buildings were destroyed or damaged, Ukrainian police said.

In Kostyantynivka, eastern Donetsk region, one person was injured and two apartment blocks caught fire after Russian attacks, Ukrainian state emergency service DSNS said.

And in the southern city of Kherson, a 58-year-old local resident sought medical help after being attacked by a Russian drone carrying explosives, the regional administration said.