Violation of Fishing Ban... Hamada Domain Officials Commit Suicide
Japanese Government Again Sending Vice-Minister-Level Official to This Year's "Takeshima Day" Event
On the eve of Japan's Shimane Prefecture's "Takeshima Day" event (Takeshima being the name Japan uses for Dokdo), a 17th-century historical record has been discovered stating that Japanese officials committed seppuku, taking responsibility for failing to properly control fishing departures in waters near Dokdo.
The Hanil Cultural Research Institute announced on the 21st that it had confirmed in the "Matsui Clan" documents a record that Okada Yorimo and Matsui Toro, who served as toshiyori of the Hamada Domain in Japan, committed seppuku. A toshiyori was the highest administrative official dispatched by the shogunate at the time, equivalent to the position of a present-day mayor.
According to the institute, on January 29, 1696, the Tokugawa shogunate issued a ban on fishing departures to fishermen of the Hamada Domain, stating that the area around Ulleungdo and Dokdo (then called Jukdo) was Joseon territory. However, some fishermen violated this order and engaged in secret fishing, were caught, and executed, and the two officials in charge were also summoned and interrogated by the shogunate. After the interrogation, they fully acknowledged their responsibility and took their own lives.
Kim Moongil, head of the Hanil Cultural Research Institute, said, "They hid this kind of secret document for hundreds of years, and even today they still call Dokdo 'Jukdo' and insist every year on February 22 that Jukdo is Japanese territory," adding, "The material in question is held in the archives of the Japanese government."
A historical record detailing that the officials in charge committed suicide after taking responsibility for failing to prevent fishermen from entering Dokdo. Hanil Cultural Research Institute
Meanwhile, the Japanese government has again decided this year to dispatch a vice-minister-level official to the Takeshima Day event hosted by Shimane Prefecture. According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, Minister for Territorial Issues Akama Jiro stated that he would send a Cabinet Office parliamentary vice-minister as the government's representative.
Since 2013, Japan has been sending a vice-minister-level official, a parliamentary vice-minister, to attend the Takeshima Day event every year. However, during a debate in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election in September last year, when the issues of the Senkaku Islands (known in China as Diaoyudao) and Dokdo were raised, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi remarked, "Ideally, the minister should proudly attend Takeshima Day," and added, "There is no need to be mindful of (South Korea), and it is necessary to make it clear that this is Japanese territory."
Nevertheless, after Prime Minister Takaichi was elected, the Japanese government shifted course and decided, as in previous years, to send a vice-minister-level official. This is seen as a calibrated move, taking into account that relations between South Korea and Japan are currently in an improving phase.
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