South Korea Protests Japan For Hosting Event Over Disputed Islands

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 17:14 IST

Seoul condemned Japan's Takeshima Day event, protesting claims over disputed islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, urging Japan to abolish the ceremony.

South Korea on Sunday slammed Japan for commemorating a cluster of disputed islands between the two countries, calling the move an unjust assertion of sovereignty over its territory.

Reuters quoted the foreign ministry stating in a statement that it strongly objected to the Takeshima Day event held by Japan’s Shimane prefecture and to the attendance of a senior Japanese government official, urging Japan to immediately abolish the ceremony.

The small islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, have been a source of tension between both countries since Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

The islands consist of two main islands and about 30 smaller rocks. A South Korean coastguard detachment has been stationed there since 1954.

In 2005, Japan’s Shimane prefecture set up a dedicated “Takeshima Day", prompting protests from South Korea.

“Dokdo is clearly South Korea’s sovereign territory historically, geographically and under international law," the ministry said while urging Japan to drop its claims.

South Korea also summoned a top Japanese diplomat to the ministry building in Seoul to lodge a protest.

According to Reuters, Seoul has repeatedly objected to Japan’s territorial claims over the islands, including a protest issued on Friday over comments by Japan’s foreign minister during a parliamentary address asserting Tokyo’s sovereignty over the islets.

Seoul has claimed that the disputed territory lies in fertile fishing grounds and may sit above enormous deposits of natural gas hydrate that could be worth billions of dollars.

News world South Korea Protests Japan For Hosting Event Over Disputed Islands

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