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| Dokdo-Takeshima islets (Liancourt Rocks) |
TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Wednesday asserted its claims over two disputed islets in the Sea of Japan during a ceremony in Shimane Prefecture, drawing a harsh backlash from South Korea who administers the islets.
At an annual ceremony known in Japan as "Takeshima Day," the government sent Cabinet Office Parliamentary Vice Minister Shunsuke Mutai to speak at the event, to the ire of Seoul who summoned Hideo Suzuki, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and lodged a protest with Tokyo over Mutai's attendance.
"We've been continuing efforts so that the understanding that the Takeshima islands are our country's inherent territory would spread. We will steadily continue the efforts," Mutai said in reference to the contested islands, which are claimed by and called Dokdo in South Korea.
Mutai also denounced a plan by Seoul to erect "comfort women" statues on the disputed islets.
Read the full story at Xinhua