08/16/2006
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
TOKYO (AP)–A Taiwanese citizens group will set sail toward islands disputed with Japan to rebuff its territorial claims and protest Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to a war shrine, a news report said Wednesday.
A group identified as the Baodiao coalition will leave Taiwan late Wednesday for the disputed Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea, Kyodo News agency reported, citing the group.
The island chain, called Senkaku in Japanese, is surrounded by rich fishing grounds and is regularly visited by nationalists from both sides. China also claims the islands.
Prime Minister Junichiro on Wednesday worshipped at a Tokyo war shrine that honors convicted war criminals among Japan’s 2.5 million war dead, a visit that has already triggered strong protests from China and South Korea.