Kim Chang-yeol of the group DJ DOC said on the 22nd that he was denied entry to Japan ahead of Shimane Prefecture's "Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan claims for Dokdo) Day" event.
According to Yonhap News on the day, Kim said, "On the 19th, while undergoing immigration screening at Yonago Airport in Japan, I was denied entry on the grounds that I have a past drunk driving record," adding, "Even when I visited Japan privately last year, I entered without any problem."
Active as an ambassador for the nonprofit Dokdo Love Movement Headquarters, Kim argued that Japanese authorities took issue with his entry ahead of the Takeshima Day event.
From the 19th to the 21st, Kim visited Japan with officials from the Dokdo Love Movement Headquarters to film the local atmosphere before the Takeshima Day event, but after being notified he could not enter, he returned to Korea on the day he arrived. An official from the headquarters who traveled to Japan with him was also reportedly denied entry.
He said, "I did not hear any explanation that activities related to Dokdo were a problem; they simply and firmly repeated the position that 'entry is not possible for any reason,'" adding, "We had no intention of visiting the Takeshima Day venue and did not plan to do anything specific, but they targeted us and denied entry."
An official of the Dokdo Love Movement Headquarters also wrote on the headquarters' official Instagram on the day, "We were detained under the pretext of a five-hour interview and baggage search, but in the end they refused landing on the grounds that it was for promoting Dokdo," adding, "The entry denial is Japan's political retaliation and targeted screening to block a Dokdo figure's visit ahead of Takeshima Day."
On Feb. 22, 1905, Shimane Prefecture unilaterally issued a public notice incorporating Dokdo into its administrative district and, in March 2005, created a local government ordinance designating "Takeshima Day" on the occasion of the 100th anniversary. Starting the following year, it set Feb. 22 as "Takeshima Day" and has held an annual commemorative event.