Civic groups urge Japan to apologize over its claim on Dokdo

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean civic groups on Wednesday urged Japan to offer an apology over its claim on Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as they marked the Day of Dokdo to renew their determination to defend the islets from Japan.

The groups including a Seoul-based civic group called "the Headquarters for the People's Action to Defend Dokdo," held a ceremony in Seoul to celebrate the 117th anniversary of the issuance of a decree in 1900 that made Dokdo part of Korea's territory.

On Oct. 25, 1900, Korea's Joseon Dynasty issued the decree over the islets in the name of Emperor Gojong. Historians say that Japan incorporated Dokdo as part of Shimane in 1905, five years ahead of its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

During Wednesday's event, the groups adopted a joint statement that called for Japan to withdraw its claim to the islets and abolish the designation of Feb. 22 as Takeshima Day by Japan's Shimane Prefecture. The islets are known as Takeshima in Japan.

In the statement, the groups also demanded that Tokyo stop describing the islets as part of its territory in middle and high schools' textbooks and Seoul make known in the international community Japan's ambition to take over Dokdo.

Other demands to the South Korean government included the construction of a breakwater around Dokdo and a floating facility for visitors to the islets.

In 2010, some local municipalities and civic groups designated Oct. 25 as the Day of Dokdo in remembrance of Korea's issuance of the 1900 decree and in a move viewed as bolstering the country's sovereignty over the East Sea islets.

Located southeast of Ulleung Island, South Korea's North Gyeongsang Province, and northwest of the Oki islands in Japan's Shimane Prefecture, Dokdo consists of two small islets and a cluster of reefs. Since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea has stationed a small police detachment there.

namsh@yna.co.kr
(END)