Japan to Dispatch Vice-Minister Level Official for 12th Consecutive Year to 'Takeshima Day' Event

The Japanese government has decided to send a vice minister-level official to the 'Takeshima Day' event for the 12th consecutive year this year.

The view of Dokdo, Ulleung-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do [Image source=Yonhap News]

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According to Kyodo News citing a Japanese government official on the 9th, the Japanese government has settled on sending Shojiro Hiranuma, a Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary from the Liberal Democratic Party, to attend the event held by Shimane Prefecture and others on the 22nd in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. The Parliamentary Secretary corresponds to a vice minister-level position in Korea.

If this report is true, the Japanese government will have dispatched a Parliamentary Secretary to the Takeshima Day event for 12 consecutive years from 2013, right after the inauguration of the second Abe Shinzo Cabinet, up to this year. The Kishida Fumio Cabinet has also sent a Parliamentary Secretary every year since its launch in October 2021.

Shimane Prefecture has requested the attendance of the Prime Minister and cabinet members at the event and the holding of government-hosted events, but the Japanese government has been sending a Parliamentary Secretary. Regarding this, Kyodo News reported, "Although the South Korean and Japanese governments have agreed on a solution to the forced labor lawsuit issue and relations have improved, (the Japanese government) judged that the response concerning Takeshima, which is under South Korea's effective control, should not be changed."

Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko stated in a regular parliamentary diplomatic speech regarding Dokdo, "Even in light of historical facts and international law, it is Japan's inherent territory," and added, "Based on this fundamental position, we will respond resolutely."

The governor of Shimane Prefecture had unilaterally incorporated Dokdo into its administrative district by public notice in February 22, 1905. To mark the 100th anniversary of the public notice, the Shimane Prefectural Assembly enacted the "Ordinance to Establish Takeshima Day" in March 2005, designating February 22 as Takeshima Day.

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