Japan has lodged a protest with South Korea over its plan to conduct a military drill around the Seoul-controlled, Tokyo-claimed\u2026<\/b>
TOKYO \u2014
Japan has lodged a protest with South Korea over its plan to conduct a military drill around the Seoul-controlled, Tokyo-claimed islets in the Sea of Japan, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday.
The drill, starting next Monday, \u201cis unacceptable in light of our country\u2019s stance regarding the sovereignty of Takeshima,\u201d Kishida told reporters, referring to the islets known as Dokdo in South Korea. \u201cIt is regrettable.\u201d
Kenji Kanasugi, head of the Foreign Ministry\u2019s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged the protest Wednesday with a senior diplomat at the South Korean embassy in Tokyo, a Japanese government source said.
The South Korean military conducts such exercises near Takeshima a few times a year. In December, some 10 South Korean marines landed on one of the two disputed islets, prompting a strong protest by Japan.
South Korea\u2019s moves come as the relationship between Japan and South Korea remains strained over the long-standing issue of \u201ccomfort women\u201d procured for the Japanese military\u2019s wartime brothels.
Japan has said the erection of statues symbolizing the women in front of Japanese diplomatic facilities in South Korea, including one in December, goes against the spirit of a 2015 bilateral agreement to \u201cfinally and irreversibly\u201d resolve the protracted dispute over the issue.
The statue installation outside the Japanese consulate in Busan in December prompted Tokyo to recall its ambassador, while opponents in South Korea have criticized the accord, saying it does not fulfill their key demand that the Japanese government admit legal responsibility for compensation.
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