BBC / The move is likely to anger Beijing, at a time
when tensions between the two nations are already
rising.
Violent protests took place in China at the
weekend against Japan's approval of history
textbooks, which critics say play down its wartime
brutality.
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura is
travelling to Beijing on Saturday to try to
resolve the row.
According to a BBC correspondent in Beijing,
Louisa Lim, the rivalry between the two countries
as they jostle for supremacy in Asia is at the
heart of the tensions.
In a statement on Wednesday, Japan's Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry said it would begin
reviewing applications from companies that wanted
to explore the disputed gas fields.
Government spokesman Hiroyuki Hosoda insisted
the timing of the decision had nothing to do with
the escalating row between Beijing and Tokyo.
"It just happened that awarding exploration
rights began today," Mr Hosoda told reporters.
Japanese companies have been waiting for 40
years to be given the go-ahead to drill in what it
sees as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which
has a potentially vast reserve of natural gas and
oil.
Both China and Japan are heavily dependent on
imported energy, and both are seeking new sources
of energy to power their economies.
In recent years China has conducted surveys of
the disputed area, and has refused Japanese
requests to stop or provide details of its
research.
Now it is China's turn to be annoyed. Japan's
decision to allocate drilling rights in the region
comes just one day after Beijing warned Tokyo
against precisely such a course of action.
In the past Beijing has made it plain that the
East China Sea dispute is an important one,
characterising it as one of the main bilateral
sticking points with Tokyo.
School book row
Even before Wednesday's announcement, ties
between the two nations were already strained,
after Japan approved a series of school textbooks
which critics say gloss over its wartime
atrocities.
On Saturday a 10,000-strong gathering marched
in Beijing to voice their anger at the textbooks -
the city's biggest protest since 1999.
The protests then spread to other parts of
China on Sunday.
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TENSIONS RISING
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Correspondents said the scale and ferocity of
the unrest were unusual for China, and indicated
tacit official support for the protesters.
Since the weekend's unrest, both nations have
used public and diplomatic channels to trade
accusations over the row.
On Monday Japanese leader Junichiro Koizumi
described the attacks as "extremely regrettable",
saying that Beijing should be responsible for
safeguarding Japanese interests in the country.
On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao hit
back, telling Japan to "face up to history" and
admit the suffering caused by World War II.
Mr Wen also said the weekend's protests should
prompt Tokyo to "have deep and profound
reflections" on its bid for a permanent UN
Security Council seat.
But on Wednesday Japanese spokesman Hiroyuki
Hosoda said "Japan has reflected deeply on its
past... There is no change to that position."
