Japan moves to nationalize Diaoyu islands

Japan has increased steps to nationalize its claims over the Diaoyu Islands. Tokyo governor Shin-taro Ishi-hara told reporters that he has expressed the provincial government’s willingness to take ownership of the Islands to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The two agreed to the action, but Noda demanded construction of a landing site and other facilities for fishing boats on the Islands in return. Tokyo, meanwhile, has decided to send a metropolitan government research team to the Diaoyu Islands, this despite the fact that the central government has denied the Tokyo government's request to land on them. The team is scheduled to leave Monday evening and will arrive near the Islands on Tuesday. Because the team is not permitted to land on the Islands, they will sail around them. Also on Friday, the Okinawa congress passed an “opinion book," demanding that Japan claim sovereignty over the territories. However, the book also asks the Japanese government to eliminate differences between people on the two sides and try to solve the dispute through diplomatic means.