Japan’s Foreign Ministry says it has lodged a strong protest with South Korea after it learned that a lawmaker from the country and others had visited the Takeshima Islands.
South Korea controls the islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan’s territory. It says South Korea is illegally occupying them.
The ministry said the lawmaker belonging to South Korea’s opposition People Power Party and others visited the islands on Sunday.
It said the visit to the islands by a South Korean lawmaker was the first since August 2019.
The Director-General of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Funakoshi Takehiro, lodged a protest with Kim Yong-gil, a minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, on Tuesday.
He said the visit occurred despite Japan’s protest and request for cancellation. He said Japan cannot tolerate the visit as the islands are indisputably an inherent part of the territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based on international law. He expressed deep regret over the incident and called for the prevention of a recurrence.
Japan’s Embassy in Seoul also lodged a similar protest with the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
About the Author
