Poll: two-thirds of Chinese boycotted Japanese goods over Senkakus dispute

Two-thirds of Chinese boycotted Japanese products and almost all Chinese feel anti-Japan sentiment has intensified in the world's second-largest economy since the government purchased three the Senkaku islets in September, a Kyodo News online survey revealed Saturday.

Isles row puts chill on 40th anniversary of ties

Tokyo and Beijing marked the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations Saturday as simmering tensions over Japan's nationalization of the Senkaku Islands showed no signs of subsiding.

China redraws Senkakus map for U.N. in bid to boost claim

One of the hottest items in bookstores across China is a map for a place that is closed to visitors, home only to a few animals and birds, and the reason China's relations with Japan are at their lowest point in years.

Islands were stolen, China says at U.N.

China accused Japan of stealing the Senkaku Islands and "grossly" violating Chinese sovereignty during a verbal war that erupted at a U.N. session among senior officials from both countries.

Japan should recognize isles dispute, Jia tells friendship delegation

The Chinese Communist Party's No. 4 man told a group of Japanese lawmakers and business leaders Thursday that Japan should recognize the existence of a territorial dispute with China over a group of Japanese-administered, Chinese-claimed islands in the East China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Japan to crank up PR over Senkakus dispute with China

In a major shift in public relations policy, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said Wednesday that Japan has decided to seek international support in its dispute with China over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands.

Taiwan, China ships spotted again near Japan-controlled islets

Taiwanese and Chinese ships were spotted again Monday near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, the Japan Coast Guard said.

Prosecutors receive first case of a Japanese Senkaku landing

In a rare move, the Okinawa Prefectural Police on Friday handed two Japanese who allegedly landed on the disputed Senkaku Islands last week over to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the minor offense act.

50 Taiwanese boats intrude near Senkakus

About 40 Taiwanese fishing boats and 12 patrol ships intruded into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands on Tuesday morning to assert Taipei's claim to the Japan-controlled chain.

¥2 billion deal nationalizes the Senkakus

The government signed a ¥2.05 billion contract Tuesday with the owner of three of the five Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, effectively nationalizing the territory and immediately drawing a strong protest from Beijing, which sent surveillance ships to the area.

Senkaku owners prefer selling islets to Tokyo, hope all nations can benefit

The family that owns the disputed Senkaku Islands said Friday in Tokyo they intend to proceed with selling their holdings to the metropolitan government, expressing concern that relations with China and Taiwan could come under even more strain if the central government becomes the ultimate owner.

Isle row Rule No.1: Protect what you have

When Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka raised the Senkaku Islands issue in negotiations with China 40 years ago on normalizing diplomatic relations, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's clear stance was that their sovereignty should be shelved, according to his official interpreter at the talks.

Isle row Rule No.1: Protect what you have

The nation's territorial disputes heated up in August when the South Korean president made an unprecedented visit to the Takeshima Islands, which his country holds, and Chinese activists briefly landed on the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands.

Jurisdiction over remote Senkakus comes with hot-button dangers

In January, Hitoshi Nakama, a member of the municipal assembly of Ishigaki, Okinawa, and three others landed on Uotsuri Island, one of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Somber marking of Japan-China ties

On Sept. 29, Japan and China marked the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations. Unfortunately, bilateral ties are in a sorry state, with mutual distrust the deepest since ties were normalized due to a dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Leaders of both countries should go back to the spirit and wisdom that their predecessors demonstrated when they normalized diplomatic relations in 1972, and when they signed a peace treaty eight years later, and verbally agreed to shelve the Senkaku Islands sovereignty issue.

Revisionists marching Japan back to a dangerous place

No doubt you've seen the news about the Takeshima and Senkaku disputes: Japan is sparring with China, South Korea and Taiwan over some specks in the ocean.

Getting Taiwan on Japan's side

Regarding the Sept. 26 front-page article "50 Taiwanese boats intrude near Senkakus": I do support Japan in this conflict, but this is a major problem as long as China shows such lust for control. A brilliant way to stop this would be a 100-year-long agreement with Taiwan. It would be a needle in the eye of China and would most probably stop China for the moment:

Senkaku issue falls hard from the shelf

Tanaage, which means to put something on the shelf, is a term that pops up often in the coverage of the current imbroglio over the islands that Japan calls the Senkakus. There is disagreement over when China, which calls the islands Diaoyu, started insisting they were its territory, but in any case the two countries didn't confront each other with their respective claims until the 1970s. Japanese hardliners say the Chinese became possessive about the rocks in the East China Sea only when they determined there were valuable resources under them, while the Chinese say they've been visiting them before Japan was a twinkle in the goddess Amaterasu's eye.

Two missed opportunities for Japan in island disputes

Since I have been requested to express my views on the territorial issues concerning the Takeshima islets and Senkaku Islands on several occasions recently, I thought it opportune to compile them into one coherent argument.