JAPAN DISPUTE OVER SENKAKU ISLAND CONTINUES

############################# Video Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCuUKHmK49o

(13 Jun 1997) Japanese/Nat • • Members of a Japanese right-wing group have landed on the disputed Senkaku Islands 180 kilometres north of Taiwan and repaired a lighthouse they claim to have built last July. • • Amateur video shows three of the group's members working on the lighthouse on the island which Japan has recently reasserted a claim over, against China. • • These pictures were taken by the Japan Youth League on amateur video earlier in the week as they approached the disputed Islands, called Senaku in Japan, and Diaoyu in China. • • This is the fifth time the group has travelled to the islands in the past year. • • The Maritime safety agency gave the group an escort, a clear signal the Japanese government is sanctioning the group's landing on the islands. • • Otherwise known as the Daioyu islands in China and Taiwan, the Senkaku's were administered by the Japanese between 1895 and 1945. • • The islands were captured by the United States in the Second World War and later handed back to Okinawa in 1972. • • China and Taiwan back their sovereignty to the islands by citing Chinese historical references from as early as 1699. • • The president of the youth league appeared happy on Friday, upon his members successful trip to repair one of the lighthouses on the islands. • • SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) • There is no reason for the Japanese government not to thank us for what we are doing. There is no reason for them to oppose us for what we are doing. • SUPER CAPTION: Toyohisa Eto, President of Japan Youth League • • Earlier this month, the Japanese coast guard and sea-borne protesters from Taiwan and Hong Kong confronted each other off the islands. • • SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) • If they (protesters from Hong Kong or Taiwan) illegally destroy the lighthouse on the Islands in future, we will go down to the islands straight away to repair. We will keep reminding people of the fact that the islands are Japan's territory. Also, We will have to protect the lighthouse for the safety of the ships that pass by the islands. • SUPER CAPTION: Toyohisa Eto, President of Japan Youth League • • The islands are uninhabited but straddle sea lanes and lucrative fishing grounds. • • The battle over which country owns them has unleashed a surge of nationalism in Japan and China, compounded by bitter memories of the Second World War. • • The islands are also reportedly rich in oil and natural gas. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

#############################

New on site