Japan's plan to 'compromise a little' over islands fails to impress Beijing

Japan is reportedly considering an attempt to calm rising tensions with China by "acknowledging" Chinese claims to the disputed Diaoyu Islands, but Beijing has responded to the plan with indifference.

Kyodo News, citing Japanese sources close to the matter, reported yesterday that Tokyo was making plans to "compromise a little" with China after widespread anger sparked by the Japanese government's purchase of three of the islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkakus in Japan.

Tokyo would only "acknowledge" Chinese claims to the islands, Kyodo reported, but would not give in to Beijing's calls to recognise that the sovereignty of the islands was in dispute, the report said - a self-contradictory signal interpreted by mainland analysts as a mere diplomatic gesture rather than a concession that could alleviate tensions.

Japan contemplated the plan after Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told a delegation of Japanese lawmakers and business leaders in Beijing last month that Tokyo should realise the seriousness of the situation and "correct its mistake", Kyodo reported.

Tokyo interpreted Jia's remarks as indicating that Beijing had set an intermediate goal of Japan acknowledging the existence of a territorial dispute, the report said.

But Japan had refrained from saying it "fully understands and respects" Chinese claims to the islands, fearing such a remark might be interpreted by Beijing as an acknowledgment of the existence of a territorial dispute.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not say if Beijing approved Tokyo's plan and called on Japan to admit the existence of a bilateral territorial dispute and settle the issue through negotiation.