Chinese philanthropist Chen Guangbiao retreated from his bid to place ads costing tens of millions of yen supporting China's sovereign claim over the Diaoyu Islands in the Japanese media yesterday, after the Japanese side required reciprocal right for similar publicity in China.

"I planned to advertise on Japanese TV and publications to claim China's undisputable territorial right over the Diaoyu Islands via the liaison of a friend from Japan," Chen said.

"Some Japanese media agreed to the bid, though [they] quoted tens of millions yen for the piece. And I accepted," Chen said.

However, Chen received a phone call from the Japanese side on Sept. 3, saying, they would publish Chen's advertisement conditionally in exchange for similar access to China's mainstream media to advertise their claim to the archipelago, called Senkaku in Japan.

Chen refuted the prerequisite as unacceptable and stopped the bidding, while promising an all-out donation to ensure China's sovereignty on the islands.

Last Friday, the New York Times published a half-page advertisement both in English and Chinese by Chen over the territorial dispute, calling on Americans to condemn Japan's provoked actions and questioning what would the American people feel if one day Japan claimed sovereignty over Hawaii.

The advertisement has made a big splash both in China and Japan.

Following the publication of the New York Times advertisement, a so-called "investigative delegate" left for the islands from Tokyo. The action was later condemned by the Chinese side.

"China has possessed undisputable sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands since antiquity," said Hong Lei, the spokesman from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The illegal stance of Japan in an attempt to nationalize the [Diaoyu Islands] is futile," he said.

The Japanese government is scheming to purchase the archipelago with 2.05 billion yen (US$261 million) this month to gain jurisdiction over the territory. Yet political figures in Japan warned of the consequences that the provocations of Japanese right-wing nationalists and some American politicians would have for Sino-Japanese relations.

According to Kiichiro Onodera, the standing executive of Japan-China Friendship Association, the Japanese people are seeing a rise of feverish nationalism, frustrated by the devastating tsunami and the current economic turmoil. This new wave of right-wing political sentiment has greatly affected bilateral relations between Japan and China, he said.

"The prevalent mood is equivalent to the fury over the neighbor's grain barn," he said.