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Korean Foreign Ministry summons Japanese diplomat over Dokdo event

Published: 22 Feb. 2024, 16:34 Updated: 22 Feb. 2024, 17:05

LIM JEONG-WON
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Taisuke Mibae, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy, was summoned to the government office complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The Foreign Ministry summoned a Japanese diplomat Thursday to protest an event marking Dokdo, called Takeshima by Japan, hosted by Japan’s Shimane Prefecture the same day.

The ministry expressed strong regret to Taisuke Mibae, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, calling him to the government office building in Jongno District, central Seoul.

The Foreign Ministry urged Japan to “immediately abolish” the “Takeshima Day” event. Takeshima is Japan’s name for the Dokdo islets, Korea's easternmost islets.

Seoul maintains that there is no territorial dispute as its easternmost Dokdo islets are historically, geographically and under international law an integral part of Korean territory. The Dokdo islets, effectively controlled by Korea, also serve as a painful reminder of Japan's imperialistic past and its 1910-45 colonial rule over the peninsula.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul also protested against the “Takeshima Day” event during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Wednesday.

Cho expressed deep regret that high-ranking officials from the Japanese central government were scheduled to attend the event and reiterated that the Dokdo islets are clearly Korean territory.

The Shimane prefectural government has held the “Takeshima Day” event annually since 2006 to highlight its claims to the Dokdo islets. The parliamentary vice minister of Japan’s Cabinet Office, Shojiro Hiranuma, attended this year’s event.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]