According to the news of Jan.1, 2003 by "Yominiuri Shimbun", that Japan, by way of 'leasing', got over the administrative right over the Diaoyu Islands from the Japanese people on the islands is aiming at restricting selling the islands, checking the third party to get onto them and putting up a strong stance of the Japanese government in the diplomatic representation." This is the first time that the Japanese government used the way of "leasing" to realize its actual control over the disputed territory.

As reported, the Japanese government has already rented the three islands including the Diaoyu Island, the nearby South Islet and the North Islet with an annual price of 22.56 million yen by signing a formal "leasing" contract with the so-called "citizens owning the rights over the Diaoyu Islands" with the leasing period to last from April 1, 2002 to Mar.31, 2003 and the "on lease" contract will continue to be carried out for long afterwards.

As introduced by some experts here why Japan at the very beginning gave tacit consent to the state in which the small islands were put under the "individual control"? It was because that Japan held it that it was more explicit and clearer for these disputed islands to be left in a state of "no control" rather than to be put under the "governance of the state" or "individual ownership".

However, since a group of right-wing elements headed by Nishimura Yabuki of the Liberal Democratic Party held actual control over the islands by landing forcibly onto them in 2000 the Japanese authority became aware that it would be landed in a diplomatic passive position to "leave aside" the control over the three islands.

Moreover, the authority is also worried that the Japanese there will someday really "sell" these islands to some foreigners. And the experts pointed out the "third party" as pointed out in the Japanese paper is hinting at China's mainland and the Taiwan province. The Japanese government now taking over the three islands "on lease" is tantamount to make public that it owns the sovereignty of the islands.

As revealed by the local media concerned, actually, Japan has long ago started its activities of leasing the three Diaoyu islands but has been carried on in secret and been made public until now. As learned, after Japan put to finish the lease of the islands it will start its offshore and submarine survey of resources and strengthen its control over the submarine oil and carry out its regular check over the suspicious vessels in the waters.

The Diaoyu Islands are the inherent territory of China. The Chinese governments of all times have all along exercised the sovereignty over the Islands. After the end of the World War II, the US had for a long time occupied the islands.

And in 1972, in the meanwhile the US returned the Okinawa to Japan it handed the Diaoyu Islands to it at the same time. In 1978 when Deng Xiaoping, then Vice premier was visiting Japan he ever mentioned to lay aside the disputes, putting forward the suggestive idea of developing the cooperative relations in a more extensive field.

But these years, the Japan Coast Guard has always been carrying on the actual guards in the seawaters round the Diaoyu Islands. Different from the northern four islands (Habomai, Kunashiri, Etorofu and Shikitan, over which Japan and Russia have disputes but actually under the control of Russia), Japan has never in the least slackened its pursuit for the actual control of the three islands.

On January 2, 2002, Chinese FM spokeswoman made a comment on the issue over Japan's lease of the three islands, proclaiming that the Diaoyu Island and its surrounding islands have been the inherent territory of China since ancient times. Any unilateral action taken by the Japanese party over these islands is invalid.

(People's Daily January 10, 2003)