Reuters/Tokyo

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Nodas effort to nationalise a chain of disputed islands long a source of friction between Japan and China faced rough going after the isles owners said yesterday that they would keep negotiating their sale to Tokyos governor. The stance by the Kurihara family, which owns four of the five uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, complicates Nodas efforts to dampen friction between the two Asian giants over the islands, claimed by China, Taiwan and Japan and located near rich fishing grounds and potential gas and oil fields. The starting line of our negotiations was with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and at present we are proceeding with these discussions, said Hiroyuki Kurihara, whose brother and sister own the islands and lease them to Japans government. It is not our familys idea to suddenly switch partners just because someone else has appeared on the scene, Kurihara, 65, told a news conference. Noda said this month the government was considering buying the islands instead of letting Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara an outspoken China critic go ahead with a similar plan. Diplomatic experts said Nodas move was intended to avoid a worsening of Sino-Japanese tensions but risked backfiring and indeed, Beijing has harshly criticised both plans, arguing the islands have been its territory since ancient times. Ties between Beijing and Tokyo went into a deep chill in 2010 after Japan arrested a Chinese trawler captain whose boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the islands, and analysts say the feud has the potential to flare again. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is expected to apply soon for permission to land on the islands, a move that could put the central government in a tight spot. Activists from Japan, China and Taiwan have landed on the islands in the past, sparking diplomatic disputes.

See the original post:

Owners of islands shun PM Noda’s bid