Japanese government announces it will buy back Senkaku Islands
Despite China's warnings, the Japanese cabinet officially announced that it would buy the Senkaku Islands.Photo guardian.co.uk
The Japanese government's statement came just a day after Chinese President Hu Jintao warned Japan about its plan to buy the Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu.
Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that the meeting was attended by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yuichiro Hata and Finance Minister Azumi Jun. The Japanese ministers are determined to put the Senkaku Islands under government control.
At a press conference on the afternoon of September 10, Mr. Fujimura said that the Japanese government had reached a final agreement with the Kurihara family, who own the islands, to buy 3 of the 5 islands in the Senkaku archipelago.
At a cabinet meeting tomorrow, the Japanese government will spend 2.05 billion yen ($26.15 million) from government reserves and sign a formal contract with the Kurihara family.
The Japanese cabinet argues that placing the Senkaku Islands under government control would help stabilize the regional situation.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda did not attend the meeting. He is currently giving his campaign speech at a joint press conference with three other candidates for the next election.
At a press conference on the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that the Japanese government's action of "purchasing the islands" was "illegal, invalid, and China strongly opposes this move by Japan."
Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on September 9 to express China’s position on the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Hu said that China-Japan relations have become serious due to the Senkaku/Diaoyu issue. He stressed that Japan should fully recognize the “graveness” of the issue and not make “wrong decisions.”
According to Datviet-M
