1894年7月，日本發動甲午戰爭。同年11月底，日本軍隊占領中國旅順口，清朝敗局已定。在此背景下，12月27日，日本內務大臣野村靖致函外務大臣陸奧宗光，認為“今昔形勢已殊”，要求將在釣魚島建立國標、納入版圖事提交內閣會議決定。1895年1月11日，陸奧宗光回函表示支持。同年1月14日，日本內閣秘密通過決議，將釣魚島“編入”沖繩縣管轄。

Japan waged the Sino-Japanese War in July 1894. Towards the end of November 1894, Japanese forces seized the Chinese port of Lushun (then known as Port Arthur), virtually securing defeat of the Qing court. Against such backdrop, the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs Yasushi Nomura wrote to Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu on December 27 that the "circumstances have now changed", and called for a decision by the cabinet on the issue of setting up sovereignty markers in Diaoyu Dao and incorporating the island into Japan's territory. Mutsu Munemitsu expressed his support for the proposal in his reply to Yasushi Nomura on January 11, 1895. The Japanese cabinet secretly passed a resolution on January 14 to "place" Diaoyu Dao under the jurisdiction of Okinawa Prefecture.

日本官方文件顯示，日本從1885年開始調查釣魚島到1895年正式竊占，始終是秘密進行的，從未公開宣示，因此進一步證明其對釣魚島的主權主張不具有國際法規定的效力。

Japan's official documents show that from the time of the facts-finding missions to Diaoyu Dao in 1885 to the occupation of the islands in 1895, Japan had consistently acted in secrecy without making its moves public. This further proves that Japan's claim of sovereignty over Diaoyu Dao does not have legal effect under international law.

(二)釣魚島隨臺灣島被迫割讓給日本

2. Diaoyu Dao was ceded to Japan together with the Taiwan Island

1895年4月17日，清朝在甲午戰爭中戰敗，被迫與日本簽署不平等的《馬關條約》，割讓“臺灣全島及所有附屬各島嶼”。釣魚島等作為臺灣“附屬島嶼”一并被割讓給日本。1900年，日本將釣魚島改名為“尖閣列島”。

On April 17, 1895, the Qing court was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War and forced to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki and cede to Japan "the island of Formosa (Taiwan), together with all islands appertaining or belonging to the said island of Formosa". The Diaoyu Dao Islands were ceded to Japan as "islands appertaining or belonging to the said island of Formosa". In 1900, Japan changed the name of Diaoyu Dao to "Senkaku Islands".