A group formed to assert Chinese sovereignty over a group of Japanese-controlled islets in the East China Sea will send boats there next week from Hong Kong and Taiwan, an organizer said Wednesday.
"We plan to depart on Aug. 12 and arrive in the sea area of the Diaoyu Islands on Aug. 15 to protest against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's possible visit to the Yasukuni Shrine," Or Wah, head of the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, told reporters. Japan calls the islands the Senkakus.
Aug. 15 marks the day in 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces in World War II, ending its occupation of parts of China.
Koizumi, who has visited the Tokyo Shinto shrine annually since becoming prime minister in April 2001, recently said he will "make an appropriate decision" when asked if he will visit the war-linked shrine on Aug. 15, one last time before he steps down in September.
Or said about 80 people have shown interest in joining the protest voyage, including people from China, Taiwan, the United States and Macau.
"My sources told me the Japanese (military) would use heavy force against us because Koizumi is stepping down anyway," Leung said. "Also, China might block us from going as it wants to improve relations with Japan."