On 15 August, ships carrying activists from Hong
Kong approached the islands, but were stopped by the Japan Coast
Guard. Seven activists nonetheless jumped from the ships to
swim ashore, five of whom reached the island; the
other two turned back to the ships. The activists and their ship
were detained by Japanese authorities.The detained activists were
deported two days later.
On 18 August, a flotilla of boats carrying about 150 Japanese
activists arrived at the islands. The activists stated that they
wished to commemorate Japanese World War II deaths in the area.
When the activists were denied permission to land, several of them
swam to the islands.Approximately 10 activists swam to the islands
and made an unauthorized landing on Uotsuri, where they raised
Japanese flags. China’s Foreign Ministry protested the event,
before it happened, saying that unilateral action by Japan on the
islands "is illegal and invalid."The flotilla also set off
anti-Japanese rallies in a number of Chinese cities, and 100 people
gathered near Japan's consulate in China to demand that the
Japanese leave the islands.