Korea lodged a strong protest after Japan's Shimane prefecture held a "Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan uses for Dokdo) Day" event and brought in a senior government official.
On the 22nd, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Spokesperson statement, "We once again sternly urge the immediate abolition of this event," adding, "Dokdo is clearly Korea's inherent territory historically, geographically and under international law." It added, "The Japanese government must immediately stop its unjust, fabricated claims over Dokdo and face history with humility."
That day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Hirotaka Matsuo, the minister-counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Korea, to its headquarters to lodge a protest. Matsuo reportedly did not answer any questions from reporters, including, "What is the reason for claiming that Dokdo is Japanese territory?" and "Do you intend to withdraw the sovereignty claim?"
The same day, Shimane prefecture in western Honshu, Japan, held a Takeshima Day event in Matsue city. Takeshima Day has been held as an official event since 2005, the 100th anniversary of Feb. 22, 1905, when the Japanese government unilaterally issued a public notice incorporating Dokdo into its administrative district.
The Japanese government, which had sent a vice-minister-level parliamentary secretary to Takeshima Day for 13 consecutive years, also dispatched Naoki Furukawa, a Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary, this year.
Protests continued in the private sector as well. At a press conference that day, the Dokdo Protection National Alliance tore up a Takeshima Day promotional booklet in a performance and called for the immediate abolition of Takeshima Day.
Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University's College of Liberal Education, said on social networking services (SNS), "(The Japanese government) should stop its false agitation targeting the Japanese public and abolish the 'Takeshima Day' event as soon as possible."