South Korea Protests Japan's 'Takeshima Day' Event over Disputed Islands

South Korea has protested a Japanese government event commemorating a disputed island chain between the two countries. Seoul described the move as an unjust assertion of sovereignty over its territory.

Reported on Sunday (22/2/2026), the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it strongly objected to the Takeshima Day event held by Japan’s Shimane Prefecture and the attendance of a senior Japanese government official. The ministry urged Japan to cancel the ceremony immediately.

The small islands, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea — which controls them — have long been a source of tension between the two neighbouring countries. Relations remain strained due to disputes rooted in Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

“Dokdo is clearly South Korean sovereign territory historically, geographically, and under international law,” the ministry said.

South Korea called on Japan to cease what it described as groundless claims and to face history with humility. The South Korean ministry summoned a senior Japanese diplomat to the ministry building in Seoul to deliver the protest.

A person at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said no one was available for comment on Sunday. Calls to the Prime Minister’s Office went unanswered. The government had sent a vice-minister from the Cabinet Office, rather than a cabinet minister, to the ceremony.

Meanwhile, South Korea 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 speech asserting Tokyo’s sovereignty over the islets.

The territory lies in fertile fishing grounds and may sit atop vast natural gas hydrate reserves potentially worth billions of dollars, according to Seoul.