Beijing - A number of Chinese analysts have dismissed statements by a high-level Japanese politician questioning the sovereignty of China's Diaoyu Islands as election campaign posturing.

On Sunday, just ahead of the Sept 14 leadership elections for the incumbent Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Ichiro Ozawa, the sole challenger of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, asserted that the islands "have never been recognized as Chinese territory in history."

Ozawa, who is also a key DPJ power broker, made his comments during a television debate with Kan aired by public broadcaster NHK. "There are various concerns over China, but it is important to speak to each other plainly," he was quoted as saying.