Japan determines to buy China's Diaoyu Islands

TOKYO - Japanese government officially decided to purchase part of China's Diaoyu Islands on a ministerial meeting Monday afternoon, reported by local media.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Yuichiro Hata and Finance Minister Azumi Jun attended the meeting, determining to bring three islands under state control, ?said Kyodo.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was not present at the meeting. He was making his campaign speech at a joint press conference with other three candidates for the upcoming presidential election inside the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Japanese government explained that bring the islands under state control will help to preserve regional stability of the Diaoyu Islands.

Fujimura announced at a press conference Monday afternoon that the central government has reached the final agreement with the Kurihara family, who claims to own the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, to sell three of the five uninhabited islands.

Fujimura said Japanese government hope the purchase will not undermine the overall bilateral relations with China.

Japanese government will decide to pay the expense of 2.05 billion yen ($26.15 million) with government reserve funds at Tuesday's cabinet meeting and sign the official contract on the purchase with the Kurihara family.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a routine press briefing on Monday that Japan's "purchase the islands" is illegal and invalid and China firmly opposes the move.

Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Sunday and made it clear that China's position on its relations with Japan and on the Diaoyu Islands issue. ?

Hu seriously pointed out that China-Japan relation had recently faced a severe situation due to the Diaoyu Islands issue.

The Chinese government stands firm on the issue of safeguarding its territorial sovereignty, Hu said, adding Japan must fully recognize the gravity of the situation and should not make wrong decisions.

Hu urged Japan to work with the Chinese side to maintain the overall development of the two countries' relations.