It's out in the open now: Japan is not well liked in its neighborhood, and it doesn't take much to dissolve the surface civilities.
In Washington in April, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara sprung his Senkaku surprise. Metro Tokyo, he announced, would purchase three of the five disputed mujintō (無人島, uninhabited islands) from their private owner, thus securing them against any possible moves by China to stake its territorial claim.
Did he foresee the chain reaction he was initiating?