Government Urges Japan to Retract 'Dokdo Sovereignty' in Diplomatic Bluebook... Summons Japanese Charg? d'Affaires in Korea (Summary)

"Not Helpful for Building Future-Oriented Korea-Japan Relations"
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Summons Japanese Consul General... "Strongly Protests"

The government stated that it "strongly protests and urges an immediate withdrawal" in response to the Japanese government’s repeated unjust territorial claims over Dokdo in the Diplomatic Bluebook released on the 11th.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a spokesperson’s comment on the same day, saying, "The Japanese government has reiterated its unjust territorial claims over Dokdo, which is clearly our inherent territory historically, geographically, and under international law, through the Diplomatic Bluebook," and emphasized, "The government will continue to firmly respond to any unjust claims by Japan regarding Dokdo." It further urged, "The Japanese government must clearly recognize that repeating unjust claims over Dokdo does not help in building a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship."

Naoki Kumagai, Charg? d'Affaires at the Embassy of Japan in Korea, is being summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Kumagai Naoki, Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Korea, to the Seoul Jongno-gu office to protest. It is expected that the Korean government reiterated its position on Japan’s territorial claims over Dokdo in the Diplomatic Bluebook during this meeting.

The Japanese government publishes the Diplomatic Bluebook every April, which records recent international affairs and Japan’s diplomatic activities. In this year’s Bluebook, Japan argued, "Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan claims for Dokdo) is clearly Japan’s inherent territory both historically and under international law," and claimed, "South Korea continues to illegally occupy Takeshima without any basis under international law by stationing a coast guard there."

The problematic expression remains the same as in last year’s Bluebook. The phrase that South Korea is "illegally occupying" Dokdo first appeared in the 2018 Bluebook and has been maintained for six consecutive years. The Korean government’s level of response, including the spokesperson’s comment and summoning the Minister-Counselor of the Japanese Embassy, is also the same as last year.

Notably, this year’s Bluebook included the fact that the Korean government announced a solution to forced labor on the 6th of last month, but it did not describe the part where the Japanese government stated that it "fully inherits the stance of successive cabinets regarding historical awareness." The Korean government interpreted Japan’s expression of "inheriting the historical awareness of successive cabinets" as one of the 'responsive measures,' but Japan’s omission of this content in the Bluebook has raised concerns that it may not be placing emphasis on reflecting on past history.

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