After the Korean government protested the expansion of Tokyo's "Territory and Sovereignty Exhibition Hall," a public relations facility promoting Japan's claim to sovereignty over Dokdo, a Japanese cabinet minister repeated the unfounded assertion that Dokdo is Japanese territory.
According to Kyodo News on the 18th, Jiro Akama, minister in charge of territorial issues, said at a news conference that "Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan uses for Dokdo) is clearly Japan's inherent territory under international law," adding, "We will work to strengthen the dissemination of messages at home and abroad with the exhibition hall as a base."
Earlier, on the 14th, the Japanese government reopened the Territory and Sovereignty Exhibition Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. An additional space called the "Gateway Hall" was created in this exhibition hall, and inside the Gateway Hall, dozens of chairs were reportedly placed in front of three screens. Books dealing with territorial issues were placed on the walls, and a digital map display stand and other installations were added.
On the same day, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in the name of Spokesperson Lee Jae-ung expressing strong regret and urging the closure of the facility, and summoned the chargé d'affaires ad interim at the Japanese Embassy in Korea to lodge a protest.
Meanwhile, regarding the expansion of the exhibition hall, China also drew attention by unusually expressing its position on the 17th, the day before. Mao Ning, Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 17th, "We urge Japan to seriously reflect on its history of aggression, to adhere to the path of peace, and to win the trust of neighboring Asian countries and the international community through concrete actions."