3RD LD: Japan tightens grip on Senkaku Islands

TOKYO, Feb. 9 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING KOIZUMI'S QUOTES; MORE BACKGROUND)

The Japanese government on Wednesday tightened its grip on the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, putting a private lighthouse on one of the islands under state ownership.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dismissed concerns about possible sharp reactions by China and Taiwan, which both claim the islands.

''We just did what a state should rightfully do,'' the premier told reporters.

Japan notified China of the transfer of ownership of the lighthouse on Uotsuri, the largest of the uninhabited Senkaku islands, on Wednesday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a press conference.

The Japan Coast Guard will manage and maintain the lighthouse, the top government spokesman said.

''We don't feel there is any problem with it as the Senkaku Islands are undoubtedly our country's inherent territory historically and under international law,'' Hosoda said.

Tokyo's decision came at a time when political ties between Japan and China are under strain, mainly due to Koizumi's repeated visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine despite Beijing's calls for him not to do so and the intrusion of a Chinese nuclear sub into Japan's territorial waters in November.

The ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the government as the group that originally built it have said they are unable to continue managing the facility, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shuzen Tanigawa told reporters.

The lighthouse was constructed in 1978 by a group of Japanese political activists and has been maintained by them. It has since been nominally owned by a fisherman in the city of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.

In March last year, Japanese police arrested seven Chinese activists for landing on Uotsuri Island. They were later deported.

The Senkaku island group, which consists of five islands with a total area of 6.3 square kilometers, is known as Diaoyu in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan.

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