On Wednesday, about 800 Japanese right-wingers gathered in Tokyo to reiterate their claim that Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets, is Japanese territory and urge the Tokyo government to act on the issue.
The rally, organized by Shimane Prefecture of western Japan, is notable as it was the first of its kind held in Tokyo. Furthermore, the participants included some 60 Japanese lawmakers and senior government officials.
Some of the politicians at the rally made highly provocative comments. For instance, Takeo Hiranuma, the leader of the Sunrise Party of Japan, referred to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s dispatch of forces to the Falkland Islands, arguing that Japan should do the same to resolve the Dokdo issue.
The lawmaker was quoted as saying that Japan should amend the constitution and be born again as a truly independent nation to recover Takeshima, the Japanese name for Dokdo.
Humiki Sakurauchi, another lawmaker at the rally, claimed that Japan should invoke the right of individual self-defense as Korea invaded Japanese territory by forcefully occupying Dokdo.
The Tokyo rally was also attended by a high-ranking official of the Japanese central government for the first time. It was Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Japan’s parliamentary senior vice-minister for foreign affairs.
A key player in Japan’s foreign policy circles, Yamaguchi criticized the Seoul government for building tourist facilities on and around Dokdo, saying that Tokyo could not tolerate such an act. He hinted at more active intervention by the Japanese government in the dispute by saying that he would participate in Takeshima rallies more frequently.
The Tokyo rally came days after the publication of Japan’s latest annual foreign policy blue paper that renewed its claim to Dokdo. Last month, Tokyo also approved 21 school textbooks containing sovereignty claims to the islets.
In recent years, the Tokyo government has intensified efforts to bolster its territorial claim to Dokdo, straining relations between the two neighboring countries. This ill-advised movement must be met with stern warnings and measures aimed at strengthening Korea’s effective control over the islets.
On Thursday, the Seoul government rightly protested Japan’s territorial claim, stressing Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo. At the same time, the government said it would start the planned construction of a tourist support center on the islets next year to guard against Japan’s territorial claim.
As Japan increases its Dokdo ambitions, the Seoul government needs to promote other construction projects to further cement its control over the islets.
Japan should realize that Korea can no more make concessions on Dokdo than it can hand over Tsushima to Korea.
