The Senkaku Islands Group consists of eight islets located in the East China Sea. Also known as the Diaoyu Islands by the Chinese, these uninhabited islands and rocks amount to a total area of ​​just over 6 kilometers. Given the relatively small size of the islands, it may seem paradoxical that they have raised enormous tensions between Japan and China and could potentially be a source of war in East Asia. The region's two great powers share a long history of fighting over island sovereignty, and the fragile balance between them was seriously challenged in 2012, when Japan decided to bring three Senkaku islets under state ownership. International Relations students have tried to explain the Japanese move using theoretical tools and one of the main theories of the discipline is realism. Although the realistic explanation seems at first glance quite convincing, its usefulness in providing a complete answer as to why Japan chose this specific nationalization policy in 2012 is questionable. The purpose of this essay is to argue that realism fails to explain Japanese politics due to the flaws and limitations inherited from the theory. The first part of the essay will be an introduction to the brief history of Sino-Japanese territorial disputes over the Senkaku Islands. Next, Japan's decision to purchase the islands will be examined from a realistic perspective and the weaknesses of the theory will be revealed. Finally, a conclusion will follow that traces the main arguments of this essay. Japan's claim to sovereignty over the area can be traced back to 1895, when it formally annexed the Senkaku Islands which were said to be "terra nullius" ("land belonging to ...... half of document ......7998&v =2.1&u=utoronto_main&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=96f6029e80ae0e88709542ec3ad7c808Ramos-Mrosovsky, C. (2008 The useless role of international law in the Senkaku Islands Journal of International Law, 29, 903-989 Retrieved from http://query.library .utoronto.ca/index.php/search/q?kw=International+Law%27s+unhelpful+roleSmith, P.J. (2013). The Senkaku/Diaoyu controversy. Naval War College Review, 66(2), 27-44 Excerpt from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1345597427?accountid=14771Snyder, J. (2004). Foreign Policy, 145, 52-62. 224031565?accountid=14771Suganuma, U. (2000). The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands: Association for Asian Studies and University of Hawai'i Press.