Japanese activists land on disputed Senkaku islands

The Japan Coast Guard says at least 10 Japanese landed on one of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday morning. The East China Sea islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan. The Coast Guard confirmed their landing on Uotsuri Island at around 7:30 AM. The 10 are part of a group which held a memorial service for the war dead on board a boat near the Senkaku chain earlier in the day, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK World) reported. The group, including lawmakers from the governing Democratic Party and the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, left Ishigaki Port in Okinawa on Saturday night. The group said the service was to mourn people who died in the closing days of World War Two, including those killed in a US military attack while trying to flee by boat to Taiwan from Ishigaki Island in July 1945. The group originally planned to hold the service on Uotsuri and sought government permission to land on the island. But the government denied permission earlier this month. It said landing by people other than government officials may harm peaceful and stable control of the island. The Coast Guard says it is trying to confirm the identities of the group members. A group of activists from Hong Kong landed on the island on Wednesday. They were arrested by Japanese authorities on suspicion of illegal entry and deported to Hong Kong on Friday.