Ganbare Nippon Sail Close to Disputed Islands

Reuters is reporting that a right wing group of Japanese nationalists has arrived in the waters of a group of islands technically owned by Japan, but which China claims sovereignty over.

About 20 members of the group "Stand Firm Japan" (Ganbare Nippon) arrived on Sunday, but said that they had no plans to land on the islands.

"We want to show these islands are under Japanese control," Satoru Mizushima, the right-wing film maker who leads Ganbare Nippon, told activists before departure late on Saturday from a port in Okinawa. "We won't be doing anything extreme but we need to show the Chinese what we're made of."

The uninteresting collection of islands wouldn't be the source of so much controversy between the two countries if they weren't located near rich fishing grounds, and potentially huge reserves of oil and gas.

The arrival of the activists coincides with the anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese in World War II.  Intending to avoid inflaming political tensions in the area,  Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan skipped a visit to Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto shrine that honors the memory of several Japanese military officers convicted of war crimes, but he did send an offering bought with his own money.

The timing of the arrival of the activists will do little to help Abe's efforts to improve relations with China, even though his current efforts are being received with lukewarm appreciation in Beijing.