A lawyer for the owner of the islands, confirmed that Tokyo municipal government officials had raised the possibility of buying them and that the owner – who had known Mr Ishihara personally for decades – was “open to the possibility”.
岛屿所有者的一名律师证实，东京都政府的官员们曾经提出购岛的可能性，而与石原慎太郎相识已有几十年的这名所有者“对这个可能性持开放心态”。
However, the lawyer, Makoto Watanabe, said no final decision had been made on a sale. According to Japanese media, the current lease on the islands expires next March.
但律师Makoto Watanabe表示，有关出售上述岛屿的最终决定尚未作出。据日本媒体报道，这些岛屿目前的租约将在明年3月到期。
Mr Ishihara’s move is certain to outrage many in China, which nurtures bitter memories of Japan’s 1931-45 invasion and has in recent decades often challenged Japanese control over the Senkaku/Diaoyu group.
石原慎太郎此举肯定会在中国引起很多人的愤怒，他们对1931年至1945年的日本侵华战争耿耿于怀。几十年来，经常有中国人挑战日本对尖阁/钓鱼岛的控制。
Last month, Japan issued an “extremely serious” protest over the entry of a Chinese state vessel into territorial waters around the islands, the latest in a series of moves seen in Tokyo as signals of an increasingly assertive approach by Beijing toward sovereignty disputes with its maritime neighbours.
上月，日本就一艘中国官方船舶进入这些岛屿周围水域提出“极其严重的”抗议。在日本方面看来，这件事是中国一系列举动的最新一例，突显北京方面在中国与海上邻国的主权纠纷中采取越来越强硬的态度。
