South Korea has protested against a Japanese government event dedicated to disputed islands between the two countries, calling the event an unjustified claim to sovereignty over its territory, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country categorically objects to the celebration of the so-called Takeshima Day (the Japanese name for the disputed islands - ed.), organized by Shimane Prefecture, as well as to the presence of a high-ranking Japanese government representative. South Korea demanded that the ceremony be immediately canceled.
The small rocky islands, known as Takeshima in Japan and as Dokdo in South Korea, which exercises de facto control over them, have been causing tension between the two neighboring countries for decades. The dispute is part of a broader historical controversy related to Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
"Dokdo is an indisputable sovereign territory of South Korea historically, geographically and under international law," the foreign ministry stressed. It called on Tokyo to abandon what it called unfounded claims and approach historical issues with humility and responsibility.
South Korean authorities summoned a senior Japanese diplomat to the foreign ministry building in Seoul to lodge a formal protest. The Japanese foreign ministry has yet to make an official comment on the matter. The ceremony in Japan was attended by a vice cabinet minister, not a serving minister.
Seoul has repeatedly disputed Japan's territorial claims to the islands. On Friday, a new protest was expressed after a speech by the Japanese foreign minister in parliament, in which he reaffirmed Tokyo's sovereignty over the islands.
The disputed territory is located in an area with rich fishing resources and, according to Seoul, may contain significant deposits of gas hydrates, a potential energy resource worth billions of dollars.