S. Korea urges ‘immediate closure’ of Japanese museum claiming sovereignty over Dokdo

South Korea on Friday strongly protested Japan’s reopening of a state museum asserting territorial claims to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, urging its “immediate closure.”

The Tokyo-based National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty reopened earlier in the day after renovations, with upgraded exhibits offering a more “hands-on” experience, according to the museum.

The renovation placed greater emphasis on Japan’s territorial claims to Dokdo, and northern islands disputed with Russia, with museum flyers stating that Japan has been unable to exercise sovereignty over them although the areas belong to the country.

“The South Korean government strongly protests the Japanese government’s reopening of the museum, which is aimed at promoting its unjust claims over Dokdo, and we urge its immediate closure,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a commentary.

“Dokdo is clearly our inherent territory, historically, geographically and under international law. Japan must realize that continuing to make unjust claims to Dokdo does nothing to help develop bilateral relations in a future-oriented manner,” Lee said.

The foreign ministry also called in an official from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to lodge a complaint.

Dokdo has long been a recurring source of tension between the two neighbors, as Tokyo continues to make sovereignty claims in its policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.

South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.