Tokyo governor in bid to buy disputed islands

　　The nationalist governor of Tokyo has announced plans for the city to buy islands at the heart of a bitter sovereignty dispute between Japan and China, a gambit sure to fuel simmering territorial tensions between East Asia’s leading powers.

　　具有民族主义倾向的日本东京都知事宣布了相关计划，拟由东京都购买处于日中两国尖锐主权纠纷核心的三个岛屿。此举势必加剧东亚两个强国之间不断升温的领土紧张局势。

　　The plan to buy three islands in the Senkaku group, known in China as Diaoyus, from their Japanese private owner throws into doubt long-standing efforts by Japan’s national government to avoid diplomatic friction by denying access to the islands to rightwing groups.

　　从日本私人所有者手中买下尖阁诸岛(Senkaku Islands，中国称为“钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿”)三个岛屿的计划，给日本政府为避免外交摩擦而不让右翼团体染指这些岛屿的长期努力带来一个问号。

　　Japan’s central government has rented the islands from their private owner since 2002, an arrangement challenged on Monday by Shintaro Ishihara, Tokyo governor, during a visit to the US.

　　日本中央政府自2002年起向私人所有者租借这些岛屿，这个安排在周一受到正在访美的东京都知事石原慎太郎(Shintaro Ishihara)的挑战。

　　Disputed sovereignty over the East China Sea islands has caused repeated diplomatic chills. A clash between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coastguard in the area in 2010 sparked the worst tension between Beijing and Tokyo in years, all but halting official contact and disrupting economic exchanges for months.

　　围绕这些东海岛屿的主权纠纷，已多次导致外交紧张。2010年，一艘中国渔船与日本海上保安厅巡逻船在该地区水域发生冲突，引发中日之间出现多年来最严重的紧张局面，致使官方接触在几个月期间内几乎完全中断，还影响了经贸往来。

　　Mr Ishihara, a conservative who has long been fiercely critical of China, suggested leaving the islands in private ownership could weaken Japan’s claim to them, waving aside worries that attempting to develop them would be diplomatically unwise.

　　持保守派观点、长期严厉批评中国的石原慎太郎提出，让这些岛屿的所有权留在私人手中，可能削弱日本的主权主张。有人担忧，开发这些岛屿的企图在外交上是不明智的，但石原慎太郎对此不以为然。

　　“The purchase of these islands will be Japanese buying Japanese land in order to protect it. What would other countries have to complain about?” Mr Ishihara said.

　　“买下这些岛屿的行为，是日本人为保护日本国土而购买日本的土地。别国有什么可抱怨的？”石原慎太郎表示。

　　A lawyer for the owner of the islands, confirmed that Tokyo municipal government officials had raised the possibility of buying them and that the owner – who had known Mr Ishihara personally for decades – was “open to the possibility”.

　　岛屿所有者的一名律师证实，东京都政府的官员们曾经提出购岛的可能性，而与石原慎太郎相识已有几十年的这名所有者“对这个可能性持开放心态”。

　　However, the lawyer, Makoto Watanabe, said no final decision had been made on a sale. According to Japanese media, the current lease on the islands expires next March.

　　但律师Makoto Watanabe表示，有关出售上述岛屿的最终决定尚未作出。据日本媒体报道，这些岛屿目前的租约将在明年3月到期。

　　Mr Ishihara’s move is certain to outrage many in China, which nurtures bitter memories of Japan’s 1931-45 invasion and has in recent decades often challenged Japanese control over the Senkaku/Diaoyu group.

　　石原慎太郎此举肯定会在中国引起很多人的愤怒，他们对1931年至1945年的日本侵华战争耿耿于怀。几十年来，经常有中国人挑战日本对尖阁/钓鱼岛的控制。

　　Last month, Japan issued an “extremely serious” protest over the entry of a Chinese state vessel into territorial waters around the islands, the latest in a series of moves seen in Tokyo as signals of an increasingly assertive approach by Beijing toward sovereignty disputes with its maritime neighbours.

　　上月，日本就一艘中国官方船舶进入这些岛屿周围水域提出“极其严重的”抗议。在日本方面看来，这件事是中国一系列举动的最新一例，突显北京方面在中国与海上邻国的主权纠纷中采取越来越强硬的态度。