Controversy Grows Over Government Vice Minister-Level Personnel Dispatch
Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women's University reported that the Japanese side has further strengthened its promotion using the 'Dokdo sea lion' during the event held to mark 'Takeshima Day' (February 22), which Shimane Prefecture in Japan unilaterally established to claim sovereignty over Dokdo.
The 'Takeshima Day' event at the Shimane Prefectural Office's 'Takeshima Archive,' which promotes Dokdo sea lions. [Image source: Seokyeongdeok, Professor at Sungshin Women's University]
On the 22nd, Professor Seo, known as a 'Dokdo guardian,' visited the 'Takeshima Reference Room' located on the second floor of the Shimane Prefectural Office, where the 'Takeshima Day' event was held, to investigate distortions regarding Dokdo and prepare countermeasures. Professor Seo stated, "Shimane Prefecture has been holding the 'Takeshima Day' event since 2006," and added, "I recently visited the 'Takeshima Reference Room' on the second floor of the Shimane Prefectural Office to investigate and respond to the distortions about Dokdo." He further explained, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to visit for the past few years," and described the local situation by saying, "The promotion using the Dokdo sea lion was more intensified."
Professor Seo said, "Japan has traditionally used exhibition panels featuring the sea lion character," and added, "Now, they are using sea lion stickers, sea lion dolls, and sea lion origami to widely promote 'Takeshima Day' and the reference room." He particularly pointed out, "They completely deny the historical fact that Japan illegally captured Dokdo sea lions to obtain their skin and oil, leading to their extinction, and are instead reviving them as characters to reinforce distorted education." He continued, "Upon entering the exhibition room, one could immediately notice a large seaweed painting," and mentioned the explanation that "seaweed around Dokdo is said to grow up to 3 meters, but seaweed around Oki Island only grows up to 1 meter," also noting that this was an illegal harvest.
An event for "Takeshima Day" at the Shimane Prefectural Office's "Takeshima Reference Room," which displays illegally harvested Dokdo seaweed. [Image source: Seokyung Deok, Professor at Sungshin Women's University]
Professor Seo stated, "Last year, we produced a multilingual video about the history of the Dokdo sea lion and are promoting it domestically and internationally. We will soon add a Japanese version to clearly point out the distortions in the Shimane Prefectural Office's reference room to Japanese netizens." He also emphasized, "We will continue to produce logical counter-content against the persistent distortions in the Shimane Prefecture 'Takeshima Reference Room' and the 'Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall' in Tokyo, steadily informing the world that Dokdo is Korean territory."
Meanwhile, controversy is growing as a government vice-ministerial official has been dispatched to the 'Takeshima Day' event for 12 consecutive years. Shimane Prefecture demands the attendance of the Prime Minister and ministers at the event and the hosting of government-sponsored events, but since the launch of the second Abe Cabinet in 2013, the Japanese government has sent a Cabinet Office political official to this event. The Kishida Fumio Cabinet has also sent a political official every year since its inception in October 2021.
On the other hand, NHK reported that in a public opinion survey of Shimane Prefecture residents, 62.9% responded that they were 'interested in Dokdo,' which is about an 8 percentage point decrease from the previous year, indicating a decline in interest.
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