Japan brushed off warnings by China and bought a group of islands on Tuesday that both claim, in a growing dispute that threatens ties between Asia's two biggest economies.
Chinese official media said Beijing had sent two patrol ships to waters surrounding the islands to reassert its claim and accused Japan of "playing with fire" over the long-simmering row.
Tokyo insisted that it had only peaceful intentions in making the 2.05 billion yen ($26.18 million) purchase of three uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, until now leased by the government from a Japanese family that has owned them since early 1970s.
Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba repeated Japan's standard line that the purchase served "peaceful and stable maintenance of the islands."
"We cannot damage the stable development of the Japan-China relationship because of that issue. Both nations need to act calmly and from a broad perspective," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting approved the transaction.
The Japanese Coast Guard will administer the islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which are near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge maritime gas fields.
The long-running territorial dispute flared again last month after Japan detained a group of Chinese activists who had landed on the islands.
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