Deep Roots of China-Japan Rift

The row between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands is, on the surface, a territorial issue. The root of the rift, however, is much deeper and wider.

In the Japanese view, the incident that developed into a serious political issue between the two countries originated in the violent action of a Chinese fishing boat that not only violated the territorial waters of Japan but ignored warnings and, furthermore, struck a Japan Coast Guard ship.