Fencing in the dark
Subtitle: Japan, China, and the Senkakus
By: Sunohara Tsuyoshi
Contributors: Nagashima, Akihisa, 1962- interviewee; Nihon Kokusai Mondai Kenkyūjo; Shuppan Bunka Sangyō Shinkō Zaidan
Edition: First English edition.
Publisher: Published by Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture (JPIC)
Published: 2020
Place of publication: Tokyo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
ISBN-13: 9784866581156
Copyright date: 2020
Subjects: International status; Foreign relations; Politics and government; Diplomatic relations; International law; Nihon-Taigai kankei-Chūgoku; Senkaku shotō
Work titles: Antō Senkaku kokuyūka
Description: "Sino-Japanese relations were seriously rattled in September 2010 when a Chinese fishing boat rammed a Japanese Coast Guard patrol ship in Japanese waters off the Senkaku Islands. This was compounded in April 2012 when Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro announced that he planned to buy the islands and added, 'if this means war with China, so be it.' Alarmed at the prospect of Ishihara owning the islands, Democratic Party of Japan prime minister Noda Yoshihiko moved to see if there was some way the government could buy them instead, even knowing this would be seen as nationalization. Top officials in foreign policy, defense, and other areas met at Kantei (officially the Prime Minister's Official Residence, but actually his offices) to find an out that would pre-empt Ishihara without provoking China (which also claimed the islands). This book tells the gripping story of what happened and why."--Dust jacket.
Notes: "Originally published in hardcover in 2013 under the Japanese title Antō Senkaku kokuyūka"--Title page verso.

"Translated by the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)."--Page 4.

"This book follows the Hepburn system of romanization of Japanese words. Japanese personal names are written in the conventional Japanese order: family name followed by given name."--Page 4.
Table of contents: title: Strained to the breaking point --; title: The bombshell announcement --; title: Clandestine operations --; title: The summit meeting --; title: The final decision --; title: Breakout of the political battle -- -- Postscript; title: Reflections: Was nationalizing the Senkaku Islands the right choice?-- (interview) /-- Nagashima Akihisa and Sunohara Tsuyoshi.