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Hong Kong (CNN) -- The wave of anti-Japanese protests currently sweeping across China has its roots in history but more recently can be traced back to April, when the firebrand governor of Tokyo announced plans to buy a group of islands claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan. He did so without the apparent knowledge or approval of the Japanese government. Spying an opportunity to assert Japanese control over the Senkaku islands, or Diaoyu as they're known in China, Governor Shintaro Ishihara launched an online appeal fund to buy them from their private owners. Donations poured in, prompting a sharp rebuke from China and forcing the Japanese government to wade into the dispute with its own offer for the contested land.

After launching the fund, Ishihara likened China's claim to the islands as like "a burglar in
Japan's house."