Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's sudden resignation has placed in limbo a huge sum of public donations intended to finance his thwarted attempt to buy the Senkaku Islands.
Ishihara had suggested that the sum be used to set up a fund to acquire three of the disputed islets in the East China Sea that Japan controls but China lays claim to, although no specifics have been mapped out. The planned funding could even be brought to the drawing board if a new governor, to be elected in December, has a change of heart.
Donations started flowing in from the public after the outspoken Ishihara announced a plan in April for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to purchase the disputed islets from a private owner in Saitama, in a bid to consolidate Japan's sovereignty claim over them.