The Yomiuri Shimbun
China's rapid rise is causing ever-widening repercussions in its relationship with Japan. This is the third installment in a series of articles examining new currents in bilateral relations.
In the early morning of April 7, a fleet of five Maritime Self-Defense Force training ships moored off Okinotorishima, Japan's southernmost island in the western Pacific.
Small boats were lowered into the water and 188 new graduates of the Maritime Officer Candidate School were taken ashore.
It was the first time they had stepped onto the small island, which is really an atoll surrounded by a reef. They were allowed to stay there for about 20 minutes.
Rear Adm. Shinichi Tokumaru, commander of the fleet, said, "I want future leaders to realize that Japan has a huge maritime area to protect".
A week later, a fleet of 10 Chinese Navy ships sailed to an area about 450 kilometers west-southwest of the island to conduct large-scale exercises, included a mock battle with a submarine.
