A top Chinese official secretly visited Japan earlier this month to hold talks with senior Japanese counterparts over how best to address simmering tensions over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Chinese government sources said Tuesday.

A Chinese online game developer has released a military-backed video game that allows players to fight alongside Chinese troops in seizing disputed Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. The Glorious Mission Online game series is the first to be developed jointly by a Chinese company and the People's Liberation Army. Its release date coincides with the 86th anniversary of the PLA's founding.