The Diaoyu Islands dispute between China and Japan has continued to heat up. About 50 Japanese nationals and local parliamentarians participated in a so-called memorial ceremony in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture organized by a parliamentary union for "defending Japanese territory" on Aug. 18.
More than 150 Japanese ring-wing activists, including parliamentarians from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), arrived at the Diaoyu Islands waters onboard 21 vessels on the morning of Aug. 19, and 10 of them landed on the islands.
The DPJ's policy chief Seiji Maehara said on Aug. 19 that Japanese activists' landing on the Diaoyu Islands was triggered by previous actions of Hong Kong activists, and thus was entirely understandable. Maehara's statement is utter connivance and support for the ring-wing activists' landing which has further damaged China-Japan relations.
Given continued escalation of the Diaoyu Islands dispute in recent months, we find it necessary to remind the Japanese government that provoking China over the Diaoyu Islands will enrage not only the Chinese mainland.
The Japanese government must be aware that provocations against China over the Diaoyu Islands will accelerate the collapse of the DPJ plagued by internal chaos, instead of consolidating its political power.
