Japan toughens stands

The unfurling of Japanese flags by 10 Japanese nationals on one of the Diaoyu Islands on Sunday is an affront to China's sovereignty.

Meetings between the two countries' high-level officials have already been suspended. Now Japan is building another wall in its relations with China, and the Japanese intruders and their government seem hell-bent on freezing Sino-Japanese ties.

The presence of the 10 Japanese nationals, including some local assembly members, on the largest islet of the Diaoyu Islands indicates the tough line Japan has taken. But it would be a mistake for Japan to see China's use of reason and restraint to deal with the Diaoyu Islands dispute as its weakness.

While on a visit to the 11th regional headquarters of Japan Coast Guard in Haha in June, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda encouraged officials to patrol the islands' surrounding waters. In July, he even hinted at using Japan's self-defense forces to defend the islands and announced that three of the five Diaoyu Islands would be "nationalized", indicating that diplomatic negotiations are not in his scheme of things.

Japan agreed to put the Diaoyu Islands dispute on the backburner when it re-established diplomatic relations with China in 1972. But now it refuses to even acknowledge the issue by saying that there is no territorial dispute with China.

Some 50 Japanese nationals, including lawmakers, attended a commemorative ceremony in Okinawa prefecture on Saturday for the victims of the United States' attacks on vessels sailing near the islands in 1945. They thus knowingly hurt the feelings of their neighbors.

The public support rating of the Noda government is dismal because of a recent legislation to double the consumption tax to 10 percent from October 2015 and the decision to restart reactors at Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture. In such circumstances, the Diaoyu Islands issue has become the proverbial life-saving straw for the Noda government.

Japan acted tough by arresting the 14 Chinese activists who landed on one of the islands last week to protect their country's territory. But by showing off its strong-armed diplomacy, Japan is actually cornering itself and making it harder for it to deal with its neighbors.

Noda and some of his cabinet ministers will meet on Tuesday to discuss additional countermeasures Japan can take in response to Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak's recent visit to the group of isles controlled by ROK but claimed by Japan. But Japanese leaders should know that territorial disputes are not going to save their political careers.