Chinese patrol ships encounter Japanese Coast Guard vessels near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, July 11, 2012. Three Chinese fishery patrol ships engaged in a verbal confrontation with Japanese Coast Guard ships during a routine patrol in waters near the Diaoyu Islands on Wednesday, fishery authorities said Thursday. Photo: Xinhua
A Chinese lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government for violating Chinese sovereignty in its recent attempt to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands, seeking an apology and confiscation of the money raised by Japanese politicians.
Hao Junbo, a lawyer at Lehman, Lee and Xu, headquartered in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday that he has added Kunioki Kurihara, a Japanese businessman who claimed ownership of three of the Diaoyu Islands, to his list of defendants.
"I'm suing the Tokyo government, its governor and Kurihara because they are trying to legalize the ownership of the Diaoyu Islands by making the purchase a civil case which has the same theory as money laundering," Hao said, adding the point of his case is to let Chinese courts exercise their judicial rights over the Diaoyu Islands.
Hao said the Beijing Higher People's Court was considering whether to process the case and didn't give him any specific date when it would reply to his application.
The Japanese central government confirmed its decision to acquire the islands in the East China Sea, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on July 7, according to Asahi Shimbun.
