It’s becoming a near-everyday occurrence, the steady stream of Chinese vessels venturing into Japanese territorial waters in southwestern Okinawa Prefecture.

In the past week, several more instances of Chinese maritime surveillance ships prowling the waters near the Senkaku Islands have been reported.  In one case, the second batch of ships in four days to venture into Japanese waters, there were three ships who entered in the early morning, despite warnings by the Japan Coast Guard.

The Japan Coast Guard’s 11^th Regional Headquarters in Naha has warned the vessels to stay clear, but the Chinese response is that the Senkakus have been Chinese territory since ancient times.    Aside from the ships in Japanese waters, two other fisheries patrol vessels have been spotted traveling just outside the Japanese waters.

Prime Minister Shizo Abe wants to improve relations between China and Tokyo, and has issued calls to Beijing.  “Japan has left the door open at every level,” he told the Diet.  “We want to restore a relationship under which we can have frank discussions.”

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