Director's Notes: Let the Truth Speak

Diaoyu Dao is small, a handful of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Yet for more than a century, these islands have remained tied to some of the most sensitive questions in East Asia – war and memory, sovereignty and international law, nationalism and regional security. Tensions surrounding the islands continue to affect China–Japan relations and shape wider discussions about the future of the region. That was the starting point for our documentary, Diaoyu Dao: Small Islands, Big Stakes.

Beyond the Headlines

For many international viewers, knowledge of Diaoyu Dao often comes through headlines – coast guard encounters, diplomatic protests or political statements. But behind those moments lies a much longer and more complicated story, stretching across centuries of navigation, war, post-war arrangements and competing historical narratives.

One of the biggest challenges was that almost every part of the story remains contested. China calls the islands Diaoyu Dao. Japan calls them the Senkaku Islands. The same historical document may be interpreted in entirely different ways by scholars on each side. Even basic questions – when the dispute began, whether sovereignty was historically established, or how post-war arrangements should be understood – continue to generate disagreement.

A History Told Through People

Credibility matters more than rhetoric. 

We decided to avoid overly declarative narration, letting historical materials, interviews and firsthand experiences guide the storytelling.

We interviewed more than 30 scholars, fishermen, archivists, coast guard personnel and witnesses from China, Japan, the UK and the United States. Some interviewees are in their eighties or nineties. Others have spent decades studying the issue.

A fisherman from Taiwan's Yilan County recalls how fishing routes around Diaoyu Dao changed over time. A Hong Kong collector opens his archive of rare Western maps, some dating back to the 18th century, showing how the islands were recorded by European navigators. Researchers in Japan revisit wartime archives and post-war occupation records. Chinese coast guard personnel describe conducting patrols in disputed waters using multilingual broadcasts. These stories helped us move away from abstract political language and toward something more human and tangible.

When History Shapes the Present

We also wanted to explore not only what happened, but why the issue continues to matter today. The documentary looks at how World War II and the post-war order shaped the East China Sea; how different interpretations of international law emerged; and how historical disputes can become intertwined with present-day geopolitics and regional security concerns.

In recent years, discussions surrounding Taiwan Island, maritime security and the military balance in East Asia have increasingly intersected with tensions around Diaoyu Dao. Some political voices in Japan have also moved further away from the framework that once defined post-war China–Japan relations.

Why Small Islands Still Matter

For many of the older interviewees, what concerns them most is not only the islands themselves, but the possibility that historical misunderstandings and rising tensions could gradually reshape the region's future. Our goal is not to force viewers toward a single conclusion. It is to document how history, memory and geopolitics continue to collide around a few small islands in the East China Sea.

Viewers may not agree with every perspective presented. But we hope they will come away with a deeper understanding of the issue.