Japan marks 'Takeshima Day' again with baseless claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Shimane Prefecture in Japan held the 'Takeshima Day' event, asserting the baseless claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory, on the 22nd.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, the South Korean government urged, "Dokdo is clearly our inherent territory from historical, geographical, and international law perspectives. The Japanese government must immediately cease its unjust claims on Dokdo and abolish this event at once."

The Japanese government sent Nakano Hideyuki, a parliamentary secretary from the Liberal Democratic Party at the vice-ministerial level, to attend the Takeshima Day event held in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Since the launch of the second Abe Shinzo Cabinet in 2013, the Japanese government has dispatched a parliamentary secretary to this event for 11 consecutive years, including this year.

According to Kyodo News, Nakano, who attended the Takeshima Day event, claimed, "South Korea's occupation of Takeshima, initiated by forceful means, is an illegal occupation without any grounds," and added, "We will resolve the dispute peacefully through persistent diplomatic efforts."

On the same day, the South Korean government issued a statement through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, strongly protesting the Takeshima Day event and sternly urging its immediate abolition. Seo Min-jung, Director of the Asia-Pacific Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, summoned Kumagai Naoki (熊谷直樹), Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Korea, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul in the afternoon to lodge a protest.

Shimane Prefecture established Takeshima Day in 2005 and has held the event annually on February 22 since 2006. Meanwhile, the Japanese Cabinet Office conducted a public opinion survey on Takeshima among 1,765 Japanese citizens from November to December last year, with 63.6% of respondents answering that they are "interested in Dokdo."