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| Japan Said to Have Tentative Deal to Buy 3 Disputed Islands From Private Owners | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| KYOTO, Japan — The Japanese government has struck a tentative agreement to buy three uninhabited islands that are part of a chain at the center of a heated territorial dispute with China, a person close to the talks said Thursday. | KYOTO, Japan — The Japanese government has struck a tentative agreement to buy three uninhabited islands that are part of a chain at the center of a heated territorial dispute with China, a person close to the talks said Thursday. |
| A government negotiator got a verbal agreement from the islands’ owners, a family living in suburban Tokyo, according to the person knowledgeable about the talks who asked not to be identified because the negotiations were still in a sensitive stage. He said the particulars of the deal, including a price, had yet to be decided, and that the deal could still fall through. | A government negotiator got a verbal agreement from the islands’ owners, a family living in suburban Tokyo, according to the person knowledgeable about the talks who asked not to be identified because the negotiations were still in a sensitive stage. He said the particulars of the deal, including a price, had yet to be decided, and that the deal could still fall through. |
| A deal would allow the government to nationalize three of the five major islands in the East China Sea chain, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. It would not directly affect the more crucial issue of sovereignty over the islands, which are already administered by Japan but claimed by China and also Taiwan. | A deal would allow the government to nationalize three of the five major islands in the East China Sea chain, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. It would not directly affect the more crucial issue of sovereignty over the islands, which are already administered by Japan but claimed by China and also Taiwan. |
| While the dispute has been simmering for decades, emotions flared in April after Tokyo’s outspoken rightist governor, Shintaro Ishihara, proposed that his city buy the islands. That started a series of landings last month on the islands by nationalists, first from China and then Japan; the Japanese landing contributed to anti-Japanese protests in China. | While the dispute has been simmering for decades, emotions flared in April after Tokyo’s outspoken rightist governor, Shintaro Ishihara, proposed that his city buy the islands. That started a series of landings last month on the islands by nationalists, first from China and then Japan; the Japanese landing contributed to anti-Japanese protests in China. |
| Mr. Ishihara’s proposal was apparently an effort to criticize Japan’s governing Democratic Party, which had sought closer ties with Beijing, for failing to take stronger action to defend against China’s increasingly assertive claims to the islands. | Mr. Ishihara’s proposal was apparently an effort to criticize Japan’s governing Democratic Party, which had sought closer ties with Beijing, for failing to take stronger action to defend against China’s increasingly assertive claims to the islands. |
| Mr. Ishihara had said he wanted to bolster Japan’s control of the islands by erecting structures, like a communications station, on them. | Mr. Ishihara had said he wanted to bolster Japan’s control of the islands by erecting structures, like a communications station, on them. |
| That prompted the national government to make a counteroffer to buy the islands, something that Japanese officials have cast as an effort to reduce tensions. They said that if the national government took control, it would build no structures there, and instead would strengthen coast guard patrols and other efforts to prevent activists from landing on the islands. | That prompted the national government to make a counteroffer to buy the islands, something that Japanese officials have cast as an effort to reduce tensions. They said that if the national government took control, it would build no structures there, and instead would strengthen coast guard patrols and other efforts to prevent activists from landing on the islands. |
| Still, China responded critically on Wednesday to earlier reports of a purchase deal. In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, called the sale “illegal and invalid,” according to The Associated Press. | Still, China responded critically on Wednesday to earlier reports of a purchase deal. In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, called the sale “illegal and invalid,” according to The Associated Press. |
| Major Japanese news media outlets reported Wednesday that a formal agreement had been struck to sell the islands for 2.05 billion yen, or about $26 million. However, a spokesman for the islands’ owners, the Kurihara family, said that no formal agreement had been reached. | Major Japanese news media outlets reported Wednesday that a formal agreement had been struck to sell the islands for 2.05 billion yen, or about $26 million. However, a spokesman for the islands’ owners, the Kurihara family, said that no formal agreement had been reached. |
| The national government already owns one of the islands, and the fifth remains in private hands. While the islands themselves are little more than barren rocks, scientists say the seafloor around them could hold rich petroleum deposits. | The national government already owns one of the islands, and the fifth remains in private hands. While the islands themselves are little more than barren rocks, scientists say the seafloor around them could hold rich petroleum deposits. |
| Japan says that China began to claim the islands only after those possible reserves were discovered in the late 1960s. China says Japan seized the islands from it in 1895 in a first step toward Japan’s empire-building in the early 20th century. | Japan says that China began to claim the islands only after those possible reserves were discovered in the late 1960s. China says Japan seized the islands from it in 1895 in a first step toward Japan’s empire-building in the early 20th century. |
| This has made the islands a potent symbol in China of what many there see as Japan’s unrepentant attitude toward its militaristic past. | This has made the islands a potent symbol in China of what many there see as Japan’s unrepentant attitude toward its militaristic past. |
| The Chinese also fault the United States, which seized the islands in World War II, for turning them over to Japan along with Okinawa in 1972. | The Chinese also fault the United States, which seized the islands in World War II, for turning them over to Japan along with Okinawa in 1972. |
Makiko Inoue and Hisako Ueno contributed reporting. | Makiko Inoue and Hisako Ueno contributed reporting. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: September 6, 2012 | Correction: September 6, 2012 |
An earlier version of this article misidentified the year in which the United States turned over the islands and Okinawa to the Japanese. It was 1972, not 1971. | An earlier version of this article misidentified the year in which the United States turned over the islands and Okinawa to the Japanese. It was 1972, not 1971. |