Tokyo's provocations lead to tit-for-tat responses

It is Tokyo's intransigence that is to blame for much of the tension that has arisen with China in recent years over islands in the East China Sea.

For years Japan has refused to acknowledge it has any territorial dispute with China, which has basically shut the door to finding a peaceful solution to their sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands in Japan) through diplomacy and dialogue.

Japan has tried to blame China for the deteriorating situation in the region, accusing it of unilaterally seeking changes to the "status quo".