Japan to purchase disputed islands

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Japan to purchase disputed islands

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Japan will nationalise a group of islands at the centre of a territorial dispute with China.

10 September,2012 05:57 pm

The Japan government announced this said Monday, as Tokyo tries both to appease nationalists and keep Beijing onside.In a deal reported to be worth 2.05 billion yen ($26 million) Premier Yoshihiko Nodas administration agreed to buy three islands it already administers, which China claims as its own.During the ministerial meeting today, we agreed that we will obtain the ownership of the three Senkaku islands as quickly as possible, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters, using the Japanese name for what China calls Diaoyu.The decision to purchase the islands, which will be formally owned by Japans Coast Guard, was aimed at their quiet and stable maintenance, he added.Noda has been somewhat bounced into the deal by Shintaro Ishihara, the outspoken right wing governor of Tokyo, who said he wanted them developed to protect Japanese sovereignty.China has reacted with muted irritation since reports emerged that the Japanese government was going to buy the chain from their private landowners.Analysts say Nodas solution -- owning the islands and not doing anything with them -- is the best thing he could do because it will go some way to assuaging nationalist fervour at home while not annoying China too much.Fujimura said the purchase is not an issue that would stir problems with other countries.Having said that, we hope that its doesnt influence broader Japan-China relations. After the Chinese side expressed interest, diplomats from both countries have kept in close contact.Often testy Japan-China ties took a turn for the worse in August when pro-Beijing activists landed on one of the islands.They were arrested by Japanese authorities and deported. Days later about a dozen Japanese nationalists raised their countrys flag on the same island, Uotsurijima, prompting protests in cities across China.In Beijing, the foreign ministry reiterated Chinas claims over the islands, which lie around 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Taiwan, and 2,000 kilometres from Tokyo.The Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands have been Chinas inherent territory since ancient times... any unilateral action by Japan is illegal and invalid, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters on Monday.We have been monitoring the developments of the situation closely and will take necessary measures to uphold Chinas territorial sovereignty.Analysts say both sides are trying to reduce the diplomatic temperature as they eye the 40th anniversary of normalised ties at the end of the month.