Japan gov’t agrees to buy disputed islands—media

In this Sept. 2, 2012 file photo, the survey ship Koyo Maru, left, chartered by Tokyo city officials, sails around Minamikojima, foreground, Kitakojima, middle right, and Uotsuri, background, the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. AP/Kyodo News

TOKYO — Media reports say the Japanese government has agreed to buy several privately owned islands in the East China Sea that are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China.

The government has agreed to buy three of the five main islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, from the Kurihara family for 2.05 billion yen ($26 million), Kyodo News agency and the Yomiuri and Asahi newspapers reported Wednesday. A Japanese government official declined to confirm the deal and said negotiations were continuing.

Tensions over the islands have flared since April, when Tokyo’s nationalist governor, Shintaro Ishihara, announced a plan for the city government to raise money to buy the islands so that they would not be vulnerable to purchase by an outside third party such as China.

China does not recognize the Japanese family’s ownership of the islands, so the deal would not affect China’s claim to them.

Last weekend, Tokyo sent a team of experts to waters around the islands to survey fishing grounds and possible sites for development, a move that was strongly criticized by China. Activists from Japan and Hong Kong briefly set foot on the uninhabited islands last month, and hundreds of Chinese have gathered in street protests in various cities in recent weeks.

Although the government’s purchase of the islands would undoubtedly anger China, the reports said that it was intended more as a means of squelching Ishihara’s more inflammatory proposal, which includes development plans. The islands are near key sea lanes and surrounded by rich fishing grounds and untapped natural resources.

No development would take place under the national plan, the reports said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the government and owner are still talking and that he would not comment any detail about the discussion.

“We are negotiating with the owner, while we try to grasp where the situation stands between (the central government) and the Tokyo metropolitan government,” Fujimura said. He said the government would make an announcement “when we reach a result after completing the process.”

The media reports said funding for the purchase would require Cabinet approval, and that that was likely to happen in the next week or two. They said the final deal could be closed by the end of the month. Government representatives met with Kurihara family members on Monday and agreed on the basic terms of the sale, the reports said.

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Associated Press Writers Eric Talmadge and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.