Individual ambition and strategic anxiety have fueled tensions between Japan and China, observers said after the audit committee of Japan's Lower House began testimony on Monday about the Tokyo governor's plan to purchase the Diaoyu Islands.

Shintaro Ishihara, the outspoken hawkish politician, was given the chance to lay out his plan in front of a group of lawmakers.

Osamu Fujimura, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said on Monday that the government was considering buying the islands.