Tokyo to purchase disputed Senkaku Islands

The governor of Tokyo has announced plans to purchase three of the disputed Senkaku Islands, as China and Japan continue their battle for the group of islands, Press TV reports. Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara’s decision has created further tension between the two sides. Although the uninhabited islands are administered by Japan, China and Taiwan also claim them. The islands are rich in possible energy resources, minerals, and fishing grounds. The Senkaku Islands are rented out to the Japanese government by a family who owns them, for just over USD 300,000 a year. The Japanese family says they are currently conducting negotiations with the government and Ishihara, stressing that they will only sell the islands to the government and not individuals. In September 2010, relations between China and Japan reached a low-point after Japan arrested the captain of a Chinese trawler near the islands.