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July 1, 2009: Tokyo Shimbun reports Ministry of Defense is studying deployment of Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) units to Yonagumi Island, Okinawa Prefecture. July 8, 2009: Minister of Defense Hamada Yazukazu visits Yonagumi Island. July 9, 2009: Vice Minister Wu Dawei meets Director General for Asian and Oceanic Affairs Saiki Akitaka in Tokyo to discuss North Korea policy. Japan-China Relations 116 October 2009 July 13, 2009: Japanese media report Chinese ships operating in vicinity of Shirakaba (Chunxiao) natural gas field in East China Sea. July 14, 2009: Admiral Akahoshi Keiji, chief of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) meets Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in China. July 14, 2009: Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi asks China not to take actions that would undermine confidence with regard to the Japan-China understanding on joint development of East China Sea natural gas. July 14, 2009: Transportation Minister Kaneko Kazuyoshi announces direct flights between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Beijing’s Capital International Airport will begin on Oct. 25. July 15, 2009: Prime Minister Aso Taro announces Lower House dissolution. July 17, 2009: Aso government approves 2009 Defense White Paper. July 18, 2009: China’s Foreign Ministry reiterates claims to sovereignty over Senkaku Islands. July 21, 2009: Japan’s Foreign Ministry announces that Chinese ships departed the area around the Shirakaba gas field and returned to China on July 15. July 21, 2009: Xinhua News announces the conviction of four defendants charged with illegally transporting Chinese laborers to Japan. July 22, 2009: Foreign Ministers Nakasone and Yang Jiechi meet in Phuket, Thailand during ARF meeting; Nakasone reiterates concerns about Chinese actions in East China Sea. July 28, 2009: Uighur activist Rabiya Kadeer visits Japan; in China, NHK broadcast of her arrival is interrupted. July 29, 2009:Japan Times reports that China has pulled out of scheduled U.S.-Japan-China trilateral policy planning talks. July 29, 2009: Kadeer visits LDP headquarters; Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura reveals that Beijing had protested the visit through diplomatic channels on July 24. July 31, 2009: Kagawa Prefecture government files trademark complaint against Shanghai restaurant/hotel owner over use of kanji designating regional specialty noodle. Aug. 7, 2009: Tokyo Gov. Ishihara Shintaro announces that he will not be able to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15 because he will be out of the country. Aug. 8, 2009: Memorial service held in Tokyo for Chinese forced laborers who died in Japan during the war. Japan-China Relations 117 October 2009 Aug. 10, 2009: Prime Minister Aso cautions against politicizing paying of respect to those who died for their country at Yasukuni Shrine. Aug. 11, 2009: Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura announces that he has no plans to visit Yasukuni on Aug. 15 Aug. 12, 2009: DPJ President Hatoyama tells reporters that Japan’s prime minister should not pay homage at Yasukuni. Aug. 13, 2009: China’s Ministry of Health announces investigation of illegal organ transplants following Japanese media reports of Japanese tourists traveling to China for organ transplants. Aug. 15, 2009: Minister of Consumer Affairs Noda Seiko is only Aso Cabinet minister to visit Yasukuni, doing so in private capacity. Aug. 17, 2009: Japan announces 6.3 percent increase in exports to China in April-June 2009 over the same period in 2008. Aug. 19, 2009: JETRO announces that China was Japan’s largest trading partner in the January-June 2009, with exports to China surpassing exports to the U.S. for the first time. Aug. 21, 2009: Yomiuri Shimbun reports that China has denied a MSDF request for Shanghai port call in period of Aug. 27-30. Aug. 21, 2009: Japanese typhoon relief aid arrives in Taiwan. Aug. 26, 2009: Japan’s Yamato Holdings Co. announces initiation of door-to-door parcel delivery service in China. Aug. 29, 2009: Asahi Shimbun reports China will commence aircraft carrier construction. Aug. 30, 2009: DPJ score massive victory in Lower House election. Aug. 30, 2009: Xinhua News expresses opposition to Dalai Lama visit to Taiwan. Aug. 31, 2009: Chinese media reports DPJ victory and predicts continuity in the development of bilateral relations. Sept. 1, 2009: Chinese Foreign Ministry welcomes DPJ/Hatoyama election victory and pledges China’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties. Sept. 2, 2009: Japanese and Chinese diplomatic sources reveal that release of Joint Study on History, scheduled for Sept. 4, has been postponed at request of China. Sept. 2, 2009: Okada Katsuya addresses symposium on 60th anniversary of founding of People’s Republic of China. Japan-China Relations 118 October 2009 Sept. 4, 2009: Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui arrives in Japan for a week-long visit. Sept. 4, 2009: Chinese Ambassador Cui meets with DPJ President Hatoyama. Sept. 7, 2009: Japan’s Foreign Ministry report on citizens residing overseas shows the number residing in China dropped 1,977 between 2008 and 2007 to a total of 125,928 Sept. 8, 2009: Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei meets Japanese counterpart Yabunaka Mitoji in Tokyo to discuss North Korea and relations under DPJ government. Sept. 8, 2009: Minister Wu meets Peoples’ New Party leader Kamei Shizuka and Japan Socialist Party President Fukushima Mizuho. Sept. 9, 2009: Minister Wu meets Foreign Minister-designate Okada. Sept. 9, 2009: Premier Wen Jiabao meets Keidanren delegation in Beijing. Sept. 16, 2009: Hatoyama Yukio becomes prime minister of Japan. Sept. 21, 2009: Prime Minister Hatoyama meets President Hu in New York. Sept. 24, 2009: Taiwan inaugurates Modern Japan Center at National Chengchi University. Sept. 26, 2009: Xinhua reports opening of new war memorial center in Nanking dedicated to Chinese Kuomintang and U.S. pilots who died aiding China in the war against Japan. Sept. 28, 2009: Foreign Ministers Okada and Yang meet in Shanghai.