Japan protests to China over Okinawa news article

Japan has lodged a protest with China about a newspaper an article questioning Japanese sovereignty over its southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Thursday. In a commentary on Wednesday, the state-run People's Daily run by the Chinese Communist Party said that China may have rights to the island chain, which includes Okinawa Prefecture, calling for a review of Japan's ownership of Okinawa. "It is absolutely unacceptable if the article's view represents the Chinese government's stance. We protested to China through diplomatic channels Wednesday," the top government spokesman told a news conference. The Chinese side responded that the commentary was written in the scholars' private capacity, according to Suga. "Okinawa unquestionably belongs to Japan, and that is the fact historically and internationally," said Suga. Home to 1.4 million people, Okinawa used to be an independent kingdom, but was annexed to the Japanese state following the 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese War. The protest came amid persistent tensions between the two countries over a territorial dispute over the Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.