Nikkei and Sankei wrote that 62 LDP lawmakers set up a discussion group on Monday aiming to strengthen Japan’s control of the Senkaku Islands and surrounding waters in the East China Sea in response to China’s intensifying maritime activities in the region. At the group’s first meeting on Monday, former Defense Minister Inada, who leads the group, said China’s escalating assertiveness is threatening Japan’s administration of the islands. The group will seek legislation that would oblige the government to conduct research of the islands’ ecosystem and marine resources. The last such research was conducted in 1979.