Government: "Japan's Diplomatic Bluebook, Withdraw Territorial Claim over Dokdo... No Impact on Sovereignty"

On the 16th, the South Korean government immediately urged Japan to retract its claim in the Diplomatic Bluebook that Dokdo is Japanese territory.

In a statement issued under the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, the government said, "We strongly protest Japan's repeated unjust territorial claims over Dokdo, which is clearly our inherent territory historically, geographically, and under international law, as stated in the Diplomatic Bluebook released by the Japanese government on the 16th, and we urge its immediate retraction."

It added, "The government once again makes it clear that any claims by the Japanese government regarding Dokdo, which is the inherent territory of the Republic of Korea, have no impact whatsoever on our sovereignty, and we will firmly respond going forward."

Earlier, Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko reported the '2024 Diplomatic Bluebook' at the Cabinet meeting, which includes the claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory. The Diplomatic Bluebook, published annually by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April, records recent international affairs and Japan's diplomatic activities.

Japan repeats its claim every year in the Diplomatic Bluebook that "in light of historical facts and international law, Dokdo is Japan's inherent territory."

On the same day, the Japanese government also stated that it "cannot accept" the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling ordering Japanese defendant companies to compensate victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.