The Japanese government has agreed to buy several privately owned islands in the East China Sea that are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, media reports said Wednesday, Sept 5, according to The Associated Press.

The government has agreed to buy three of the five main islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, from the Kurihara family for 2.05 billion yen ($26 million), Kyodo News agency and the Yomiuri and Asahi newspapers reported, citing anonymous sources.

A Japanese government official declined to confirm the deal and said negotiations were continuing.

Tensions over the islands have flared since April, when Tokyo's nationalist governor, Shintaro Ishihara, announced a plan for the city government to raise money to buy the islands so that they would not be vulnerable to purchase by a third party such as China.

Last weekend, Tokyo sent a team of experts to waters around the islands to survey fishing grounds and possible sites for development - although the central government forbade the expedition from setting foot on the islands.

China responded by calling the reported purchase "illegal and invalid."