27/08/2012 17:47
Japan plans to buy disputed islands from China
The Japanese government on Monday refused to let Tokyo metropolitan authorities land on islands at the centre of a territorial dispute with China, a move aimed at defusing tensions that led to biggest anti-Japan protests in years.
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has proposed buying the islands from their private Japanese owners and has sought central government permission to send a team of officials to survey the land, the Chicago Tribune said.
The Japanese government has outbid the Tokyo metropolitan government with an offer of ¥2 billion (160 million RMB) for the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, the shanghaiist.com.