Big News Network (ANI) Monday 16th July, 2012
Japan has recalled its ambassador to China in protest over Chinese vessels entering waters around islands claimed by both countries.
The dispute surrounds a set of East China Sea Islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the dispute entered a new phase after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that his government is considering purchasing the islands, now privately owned.
Within days of that announcement, patrol vessels from China's fisheries administration were seen around the island chain, some inside the line that Japan regards as marking its territorial waters.
That resulted in a protest from Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gembawhen he met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.
According to Japanese officials, Tokyo's combative governor Shintaro Ishihara may have forced Prime Minister Noda into announcing his purchase plan.
Ishihara had made the surprise proposal in April that his city buy the uninhabited islands.
Japan's Ambassador to China, Uichiro Niwa, become part of the controversy by expressing concerns over Ishihara's plan, angering conservatives and leading some to call for him to be replaced.
According to the paper, Niwa's return was only temporary, with local Japanese media reports saying he would immediately return to China. (ANI)
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