Japan protests S. Korean military drill on islands

TOKYO: Japan protested Friday to South Korea for holding a military exercise on a disputed island cluster in the Sea of Japan claimed by Tokyo but controlled by Seoul.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said a landing drill by South Korean navy and coast guard personnel on the island group, called Takeshima by Japan and Dokdo by South Korea, violated Japanese sovereignty.
“It’s totally unacceptable and extremely regrettable,” Suga told a regular news conference, repeating his government’s claims that the island group is part of Japan’s territory historically and under international law. He said Japan’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest both in Tokyo and Seoul.
Tensions between the countries have spiked since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the island last year.
South Korea has protested against the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s posting of a YouTube video clip last week about its sovereignty over Takeshima as Japan steps up efforts to promote international awareness over the problem.
The issue stirs nationalism among Koreans, as Japan’s takeover of the islets in 1905 came ahead of its colonial rule over the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Japan is also in a dispute with China over a separate island group in the East China Sea. The Japan-controlled islands are claimed by China, straining their diplomatic relations.