Talk to the Toasters

The Chinese want to wear out the Japanese by making it too hard to respond to continuous Chinese incursions around the Senkaku Islands. Keep doing this until Japan is too tired or too worn out to respond, and China is the only force around the islands. So Japan can't get too tired.

Strategypage writes about the Senkaku confrontations:

The new Chinese tactic of sending more and more boats and aircraft takes advantage of the fact that while Japan has better ships and crews, China has more patrol boats and men. In combat Japan would have an edge, but in this endurance contest the advantage shifts to China. In response Japan is building more patrol boats, bringing retired ships back into service and devising new tactics of its own that rely on technological advantages.

Oh, and Japan has to win this low level cold war while also making sure that Japan retains an edge in an actual fight for the islands. If Japan wins the cold war by not tiring but China then decides it has the option of going hot and winning, Japan still loses.

If Japan wants to rely on technological advantages that could negate China's strategy of tiring out the Japanese, I say send in the robots. They don't blink.