On Monday, the municipal council of Ishigaki City in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture approved a proposal to give the uninhabited Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which are called the Senkaku Islands in Japan, their own administrative designation of “Tonoshiro Senkaku” rather than just “Tonoshiro” — the name of a place on Ishigaki Island — with effect from Oct. 1.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took the lead in objecting to this name change soon after it was proposed on June 9. The Yilan County Council approved an ad hoc motion requesting the Yilan County Government to designate the Diaoyutais as “Toucheng Diaoyutai,” since Taiwan places the islands under the jurisdiction of the county’s Toucheng Township (頭城).