Japan-China Joint Drilling an Option, Nakagawa Says

Japan’s government may agree to joint drilling with China in a gas field in a disputed area in the East China Sea, Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa said.

China needs to stop drilling in the disputed area in the East China Sea between Shanghai and the Japanese island of Okinawa and provide data on the gas fields before Japan will consider a request for joint exploration, Nakagawa said.

Drilling with China is “one of our options,” Japan’s Nakagawa said at a press briefing in Tokyo. That said, joint drilling “isn’t a high priority.
Bloomberg