Japan would respond with force if
any attempt is made to land on
disputed islands, PM Shinzo Abe
has warned. His comments came as eight Chinese
government ships sailed near East
China Sea islands that both nations
claim. A flotilla of 10 fishing boats carrying
Japanese activists was also reported
to be in the area, as well as the
Japanese coastguard. Mr Abe was speaking in parliament
hours after dozens of lawmakers
visited a controversial war-linked
shrine. A total of 168 lawmakers paid their
respects at the Yasukuni Shrine,
which commemorates Japan's war
dead, including war criminals, in a
move likely to anger regional
neighbours who say the shrine is a reminder of Japan's military past. 'Deal strongly' The warning from the Japanese prime
minister was the most explicit to
China since Mr Abe took power in
December, the BBC's Rupert
Wingfield-Hayes reports from Tokyo. Asked in parliament what he would
do if Chinese ships tried to land on the
disputed islands, Mr Abe said they
would be expelled by force. "Since it has become the Abe
government, we have made sure that
if there is an instance where there is
an intrusion into our territory or it
seems that there could be landing on
the islands then we will deal will it strongly," he said. The warning came as eight Chinese
ships sailed around the islands -
called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu
in China. The Japanese coast guard said it was
the highest number of Chinese boats
in the area since Tokyo nationalised
part of the island chain in September
2012.



China said its ships had been
monitoring Japanese vessels. The
State Oceanic Administration issued a
statement saying three of its ships
had "found" several Japanese ships
around the islands and "immediately ordered another five ships in the East
China Sea to meet the three ships". Ten Japanese boats carrying around
80 activists arrived in the area early
on Tuesday, Reuters news agency
reported, monitored by Japanese
Coast Guard vessels. Public
broadcaster NHK said the boats were carrying "regional lawmakers and
members of the foreign media". Japan's top government spokesman
said the "intrusion into territorial
waters" was "extremely regrettable".
Japan also summoned the Chinese
ambassador to protest, reports said. The territorial row has been rumbling
for years but was reignited last year
when Japan bought three of the
islands from their private Japanese
owner. China claims the island chain, which is
controlled by Japan. Taiwan also
claims the islands, which offer rich
fishing grounds and lie in a
strategically important area. The dispute has led to serious
diplomatic tension between China
and Japan, most recently in January
when Japan said a Chinese frigate
locked weapons-controlling radar on
one of its navy ships near the islands - something China disputes. 'Backlash' The visit to the Yasukuni Shrine on
Tuesday by lawmakers marking the
spring festival is also likely to hit ties
between Beijing and Tokyo. Two cabinet ministers, including
Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso,
visited the shrine on Sunday. Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe did not visit but
made a ritual offering. South Korea subsequently cancelled a
proposed visit by its foreign minister,
while China lodged "solemn
representations" in response to the
ministers' visit. "Only when Japan faces up to its
aggressive past can it embrace the
future and develop friendly relations
with its Asian neighbours," Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying
said on Monday. But Japanese lawmaker Hidehisa
Otsujji said it was "natural" for
"lawmakers to worship at a shrine for people who died for the nation". "Every nation does this. I don't
understand why we get a backlash,"
he said.

They should just sell this place to a businessman who will transform it into a vacation hub.

As much as I would like to read through this... I just cant with the bad formatting