Island Territories Off Nation's Coast Are Challenged Anew by South Korea, Russia and China
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Tokyo is facing escalating tensions on three fronts, as South Korea, Russia and China make fresh challenges to claims over island territories off the shores of Japan.
On Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, speaking on the eve of Seoul's celebration of liberation from Japan at the end of World War II, criticized Japanese handling of the countries' historic and territorial grievances, tying it to Japan's imperial past. In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Lee again urged Tokyo to resolve some of the controversies that still linger from the colonial era but didn't mention specific territorial disputes.
Japan recalled its ambassador to South Korea on Friday and suggested it might ask the International Court of Justice to settle the possession dispute after Mr. Lee made a visit Friday to a set of South Korea-controlled islets that Japan also claims. The islets, called Liancourt Rocks by the U.S. and other countries, are named Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
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Tokyo is facing escalating tensions on three fronts, as South Korea, Russia and China make fresh challenges to claims over island territories off the shores of Japan.
On Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, speaking on the eve of Seoul's celebration of liberation from Japan at the end of World War II, criticized Japanese handling of the countries' historic and territorial grievances, tying it to Japan's imperial past. In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Lee again urged Tokyo to resolve some of the controversies that still linger from the colonial era but didn't mention specific territorial disputes.
Japan recalled its ambassador to South Korea on Friday and suggested it might ask the International Court of Justice to settle the possession dispute after Mr. Lee made a visit Friday to a set of South Korea-controlled islets that Japan also claims. The islets, called Liancourt Rocks by the U.S. and other countries, are named Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
