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AsiaToday reporter Park Seong-il = Kazuo Chujo, Consul General of Japan in Seoul, is escorted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs annex building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 4th, for a meeting with the director-general for Asia-Pacific affairs after being summoned. Japan's Ministry of Defense claimed sovereignty over Dokdo in its annual defense white paper, released after that day's Cabinet meeting.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Kazuo Chujo, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, on the 4th and expressed regret over Japan's defense white paper, which repeated claims that Dokdo is inherently Japanese territory.

Newly appointed Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said at a regular briefing held at the ministry that day, "We strongly protest Japan's government repeating unjust territorial claims over Dokdo, which is historically, geographically, and under international law clearly our own territory, through its defense white paper, and we urge Japan to immediately withdraw these claims."

Spokesperson Park stressed, "We reaffirm once again that Japan's unjust claims have no effect whatsoever on our sovereignty over Dokdo, and we make clear that we will respond firmly to any provocation by Japan regarding Dokdo."

After meeting with an official from the Foreign Ministry's Asia-Pacific Affairs Bureau that day, Chujo left the ministry building without answering reporters' questions about why Japan continues to repeat its claims to Dokdo.

The Ministry of National Defense also summoned Takeshi Nagayoshi, Japan's defense attaché in Seoul (an officer of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force), to lodge a protest, urging immediate correction and an end to what it called groundless claims. The ministry stressed, "We reaffirm that Dokdo is historically, geographically, and under international law our own territory," adding, "We will respond firmly to any attempt to undermine our sovereignty over Dokdo."

Japan's Ministry of Defense reasserted its claim to Dokdo in this year's defense white paper, released after that day's Cabinet meeting. Japan's groundless claim that Dokdo is inherently Japanese territory has now continued for 22 years. Japan uses the term "inherent territory" to mean land that has "never once belonged to a foreign country."

In the white paper, Japan claimed that regarding the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the issues of the Northern Territories and "Takeshima," which it calls its inherent territories, remain unresolved. In a map titled "Surveillance and Monitoring in Surrounding Sea and Air Space," Japan also marked the waters around Dokdo with a solid blue line, emphasizing its claim that the area is within its own territorial waters. In another map showing "Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) of Neighboring Countries and Regions," Japan labeled Dokdo — located within South Korea's ADIZ — as "Takeshima."

                                                                                                            Mok Yong-jae