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| Read Senkaku islands Dispute |
News that a deal has been struck is likely to provoke strong criticism from
the governments in Beijing and Taiwan, as well as potentially triggering
renewed outbursts of violence in both countries.
Tens of thousands of Chinese took to the streets in a dozen cities in
mid-August after a group of Japanese nationalists landed on Uotsuri Island
and unfurled Japanese flags. Television footage of the protests showed
demonstrators ransacking Japanese restaurants and businesses and wrecking
Japanese-made cars.
The Japanese government has declined to confirm that a deal has been signed,
with a spokesman telling Kyodo News that the discussions were still under
way.
According to the reports, a senior official met secretly with a member of the
Kurihara family on behalf of Yoshihiko Noda, the prime minister, on Monday.
Under the terms of the deal, the contract to transfer ownership of the
Senkakus - which China knows as the Diaoyu islands and Taiwan refers to as
the Tiaoyutai chain - will be signed by the family and the Japanese
government by the end of this month. Read more
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