This year, Cabinet Office Member and Deputy Parliamentary Minister Nakano Hideyuki attended the ceremony, which is held annually on February 22 in Matsue, the capital of the western coastal province of Shimane.
At the ceremony, using the phrase “The invasion of Takeshima, which was initiated by force by South Korea, is baseless and illegal”, Nakano said that they will “continue determined and peaceful diplomatic efforts” to resolve the issue.
Shimane Province Governor Maruyama Tatsuya also described the visits of South Korean officials to the islands as “quite unfortunate” and said that Tokyo-Seoul negotiations are needed to solve the problem.
“Look at historical facts or international law, Takeshima is clearly Japan’s interior,” Japan’s Cabinet Chief Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu said at a press conference in the capital. said.
Reaction from South Korea: We protest hard
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Kumagai Naoki, Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Seoul, to the ministry and conveyed its protests against the ceremony.
“We strongly protest Japan’s repeated unjustified territorial claims,” the ministry said in a statement.
The total area of the islets is 0.2 square kilometers
The ceremony has been held annually in the province since 2006, following the proclamation of “February 22 Takeshima Day” by the Shimane Governorate on the coast of the Sea of Japan (Right Sea).
The islets, called “Dokdo” by South Korea and “Takeshima” by the Japanese, with a total area of 0.2 square kilometers, are the subject of sovereignty discussions between the two countries.