Japan activists land on disputed islands amid row with China

Tokyo, Aug. 19 (ANI): About ten Japanese activists have landed on a group of islands that Tokyo is in dispute with China.

The activists swam ashore after a convoy carrying about 150 activists reached the Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu in China.

According to the BBC, the Japanese launched their flotilla on Saturday, saying that they wanted to honour the Japanese, who had died near the islands in World War II.

China has earlier warned that the expedition would undermine its territorial sovereignty.

The islands lie on a vital shipping lane, and are surrounded by deposits of gas, the report said.

"I want to show the international community that these islands are ours. It is Japan's future at stake," Kenichi Kojima, a local politician from Kanagawa, near Tokyo, said.

Earlier this week, pro-Chinese activists had sailed to the disputed island chain from Hong Kong in a protest aimed at promoting Chinese sovereignty. (ANI)