But what else is new?

The Japanese PM Shinzo Abe reaffirms the unmoved position of the Japanese government regarding the Senkaku-Diaoyu Islands – but frankly this is nothing new. It doesn’t help the tensions between China and Japan. But in keeping with the contradictions (from both Japan and China) between nationalists and the need for a strong economic relations between the nations, Abe also (according to JiJi Press)

stressed his government’s willingness to refocus on the policy of building a mutually beneficial, strategic partnership between Japan and China to mend the bilateral relationship, which has worsened rapidly over the islands.

You could almost compare the contradiction to newly ensconced Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s words about China following a peaceful path and the PLA Navy’s posture in the East China and South China Seas.