Japan Provokes Again Ahead of Tokyo Olympics... Claims Sovereignty over Dokdo in Defense White Paper

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Japan's Ministry of Defense has once again reiterated its claim to sovereignty over Dokdo in this year's edition of the annual "Defense White Paper." As the tug-of-war between the two countries continues over whether President Moon Jae-in will attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on the 23rd, attention is focused on how the results of this Defense White Paper will affect his visit to Japan.

On the 13th, Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo reported the 2021 edition of the Defense White Paper at a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide.

The White Paper, which covers Japan's security environment from April last year to May this year, states that "the Northern Territories, which are Japan's inherent territory, and the Takeshima (the name Japan uses for Dokdo) territorial issues remain unresolved."

Additionally, in maps showing ▲ the locations of major Self-Defense Forces units ▲ Russian military activity trends ▲ surveillance of maritime and airspace boundaries around Japan ▲ air defense identification zones of neighboring countries, Dokdo was removed and replaced with Takeshima.

Japan has claimed sovereignty over Dokdo through the Defense White Paper every year for 17 years since the Koizumi Junichiro administration in 2005.

Previously, Japan marked Dokdo as Japanese territory on a map depicting the torch relay route for the Tokyo Olympics and has not retracted this. Despite public calls in Korea to boycott the Tokyo Olympics, the Defense White Paper including the claim to Dokdo was decided at the cabinet meeting just 10 days before the opening ceremony.

Accordingly, it is expected that opposition to President Moon's visit to Japan will increase within Korea. Moreover, as President Moon is raising "Japan's attitude" as a precondition for his visit to Japan during the Tokyo Olympics, it cannot be ruled out that this will also influence whether he decides to visit.

Meanwhile, the Defense White Paper states regarding Korea-Japan defense cooperation that "negative responses from the Korean defense authorities continue," and "we will strongly demand appropriate responses from the Korean side to ensure that cooperation between Korea-US and Korea-US-Japan is not damaged." This reflects a perception that problems could arise in Korea-US-Japan cooperation due to Korea's negative responses.

The reasons cited for adding the phrase "negative responses from the Korean side" in this year's White Paper include confrontations between Korean Navy destroyers and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft, military exercises around Dokdo, and controversies over the termination notice of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.