A pack of Japanese rightists aboard vessels illegally surveyed around China's Diaoyu Islands on Sunday, a latest provocative move that infringes on Chinese territory.

To curb such provocations and ease tensions over the islands, the Japanese government should avoid being crippled by the right-wingers and handle relevant issues from the overall interests of the Sino-Japanese relations.

The Japanese rightists, including both activists and politicians, have been repeatedly making such provocations with the connivance of the Japanese government, which, eventually, often has to scramble for solutions to ensuing political uproar and chaos.

The illegal survey came in the wake of the blatant and unlawful landing on the islands by a handful of Japanese rightists last month.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has said that he will make a visit to the islands himself in October, when a second team will be there for another survey.

It was exactly Ishihara who first sparked the Sino-Japan territorial row in April by claiming to purchase the Chinese islands.

Such a provocative scheme of the Japanese rightists, further emboldened by the Japanese government's inaction and acquiescence, will certainly damage the Sino-Japanese ties.

Tokyo apparently is playing an expedient balancing act between not irritating Beijing too much on the one hand and not squeezing its far rights too hard on the other.

In fact, the Japanese rightists are seeking nothing but their personal political gains in order to put them back in the driver's seat at home.

The Tokyo Prefecture's "islands-buying" farce aims to corner the ruling Democratic Party, as it blames the Japanese government for not acting tough enough over the disputes.

It also tries to instigate nationalist sentiment through flaring up the disputes and pressure against domestic political rivals.

Such a narrow-minded political game will only hurt and backfire as it will further poison the Sino-Japanese relationship amid the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties this year.

The Japanese government, instead of standing by or being handicapped, should make more efforts to deter the rightists' stimulating and unwise moves, which are very harmful to bilateral ties.