Senkaku island.
BBC News 18 August 2012 Last updated at 19:37 ET


Japan boats reach disputed islands amid China row Flotilla members say Japan's future is "at stake"

Boats carrying dozens of Japanese nationalists activists have moored off a group of disputed islands, amid a bitter sovereignty row with China.

A reporter with the French AFP new agency, who is with the flotilla, said six people swam ashore, despite being denied permission to land by Tokyo.

A group of pro-China activists landed on the islands earlier this week.

The Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu in China, are under Japan's control but are claimed by China and Taiwan.

They lie on a vital shipping lane, and are surrounded by deposits of oil and gas.

The stunt by pro-China activists earlier in the week, who have all since left Japan, enraged Japanese nationalist groups.

They launched their flotilla on Saturday, saying they wanted to commemorate the Japanese who died near the islands in World War II.
Continue reading @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19303931
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Historical background

Since the transfer of administration from United States to Japan in 1971, ownership of the islands by Japan has been disputed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC, also known as Taiwan). The Chinese claim the discovery and control of the islands from the 14th century. Japan controlled the islands from 1895 until its surrender at the end of World War II. The United States administered them as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when the islands reverted to Japanese control under the Okinawa Reversion Treaty between the United States and Japan. Continue reading @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands