China on Friday added Japanese passport-holders to a newly expanded list of people eligible for unilateral visa-free entry on a trial basis, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Friday. China also notified Japan that it will remove a buoy near the Diaoyu Islands, which are also claimed by Japan as the Senkaku Islands, Kyodo news reported.
Japan had objected to the installation of the buoy in the high seas over Japan’s southern continental shelf in the Pacific Ocean without explanation, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi calling the move “regrettable” in June. The buoy was installed in high seas north of Japan’s southernmost Okinotori Island by the Chinese survey vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 during a voyage through Japan’s waters, ostensibly “for the purpose of scientific research and serving public good.”