On November 25, DPJ Next Minister of Defence Shu Watanabe and Next Minister for Foreign Affairs Tetsuro Fukuyama jointly issued the following statement regarding China's establishment of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea.

On November 23, the Chinese Defence Ministry announced it had established an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea.

The ADIZ established by China includes the airspace over the Senkaku Islands, which are an inherent part of the territory of Japan. We can never sanction such an act and find it extremely deplorable.

Furthermore, the Chinese measure may lead to unforeseen contingencies occurring in the airspace in question, and we are therefore concerned about this from the viewpoint of Japan's national security and regional stability.
The Democratic Party of Japan issues a strong protest to the Chinese side regarding this, and urges for the ADIZ to be immediately rescinded, as well as calling for the immediate end to the ever increasing infringements of Japan's territorial waters.