Japanese Lawmakers Rebuke S. Korean Politicians’ Takeshima Landing

November 21, 2018

Tokyo--A suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers adopted on Wednesday a special resolution expressing their "strong anger" over 13 South Korean lawmakers' landing on Sea of Japan islands disputed by the two countries late last month.

While protesting the landing, the resolution urged the Japanese government to designate a day of Takeshima, the Japanese name of the islets, and hold an event on its claimed territory with attendance by the prime minister.

The Japanese lawmakers also called on the government to consider bringing the territorial issue to the International Court of Justice or resorting to a dispute settlement framework under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

During the group's meeting on the day, Akira Sato, state minister for territorial issues at the Cabinet Office, said the government will increase publicity at home and abroad for its claims over the islands, which are under the control of South Korea.

Later on Wednesday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement protesting the Japanese meeting, criticizing the participants as maintaining "groundless claims" for the islands, called Dokdo in South Korea. Jiji Press