Japanese minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues claims 280 uninhabited islands as territory.

Japanese minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues claims 280 uninhabited islands as territory.HT: PhantomReport.Source: SCMP.

Japan yesterday said it will accelerate the nationalisation of 280 uninhabited islands in a bid to strengthen control of the country’s maritime territory.

Ichita Yamamoto, minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues, said Tokyo would formally register the remote islands, which are among the more than 400 land features that define Japan’s territorial waters.

“We will register the remote islands as state property to enhance their management,” Yamamoto said.

Both moves announced by Tokyo yesterday could further fuel tensions between Japan and its neighbours China and South Korea.

The locations of these 280 islands are not known yet and it is not clear whether they are contested by other countries. 

When asked by the South China Morning Post, the secretariat of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy in Japan said the islands were “all around Japan” and were not under dispute. Media reports have said that these islands are without owners, and some of them are even nameless.Hmmm....Something tells me the Chinese won't like that at all.Read the full story here.