Analysts say Japan's chaotic voices will harm relations

Analysts said Japan's effort to involve the United States in its rival claim over China's Diaoyu Islands shows "its lack of bargaining power", and its domestic political chaos and contradictory remarks are stirring up frictions over the islands.

Like his predecessors, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has made repeated calls on Washington to take a position on the Chinese islands and affiliated islets in the East China Sea.

Gemba even told the Japanese House of Representatives on Tuesday that he had confirmed with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the islands "fall within the scope" of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, an agreement symbolizing Washington's commitment to necessary security support.