Japan wants to buy Senkaku islands

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Saturday that the government is considering buying islands in potentially gas rich territory claimed by both Japan and China, in a move likely to anger Beijing, reports the Reuters.

The uninhabited islands in the East China Sea are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Noda told reporters in the northeastern city of Iwaki that his government was in contact with the landowner about buying the islands when the lease expires next year.