Reuters <\/p>\n
The wave of anti-Japanese protests currently sweeping across China has its roots in history but more recently can be traced back to April, when the firebrand governor of Tokyo announced plans to buy a group of islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. <\/p>\n
He did so without the apparent knowledge or approval of the Japanese government. <\/p>\n
Spying an opportunity to assert Japanese control over the Senkaku islands, or Diaoyu as they're known in China, Governor Shintaro Ishihara launched an online appeal fund to buy them from their private owners. <\/p>\n
Donations poured in, prompting a sharp rebuke from China and forcing the Japanese government to wade into the dispute with its own offer for the contested land. <\/p>\n
Who is Shintaro Ishihara? <\/p>\n
Ishihara has a long history of making inflammatory comments about China, so much so that in 1999, when he was appointed Tokyo governor, Japan's then chief cabinet secretary, Hiromu Nonaka, sought to reassure China that relations would remain \"friendly.\" <\/p>\n
Before taking office, Ishihara was a well-known author whose name became famous in his early twenties after writing \"A Season of the Sun,\" which won Japan's most prestigious literary prize. <\/p>\n
He's an outspoken nationalist who in the past has cast doubt on historians' account of the 1937 Rape of Nanking, in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese were killed by Japanese troops. <\/p>\n
After launching the fund, Ishihara likened China's claim to the islands as like \"a burglar in Japan's house.\" <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Read more: <\/p>\n
Ownership of islands strains relationship<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reuters The wave of anti-Japanese protests currently sweeping across China has its roots in history but more recently can be traced back to April, when the firebrand governor of Tokyo announced plans to buy a group of islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. Continue reading