Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says a trip by Japanese historians to a set of disputed islands is a "misunderstanding". It comes after three Japanese historians set foot on the South Korean controlled islets earlier on Thursday and sent pro-Korea messages.
He said, "That our nation’s citizens had gone to Takeshima through South Korea’s immigration procedures, this may result in the misunderstanding that we are admitting South Korea has territorial rights. We call on them to stop such actions."
The scholars represent a group that oppose the Japanese government’s claim over the islands, which are known as Dokdo in South Korea and Senkaku in Japan.
After arriving on the islands, the group waved South Korea’s flag and chanted "the Dokdo islets are South Korean Territory."Although other Japanese scholars have visited the islets in the past, this is the first time any group has claimed South Korean’s sovereignty over them.
The three rocky islands have been a source of diplomatic tension between Japan and South Korea for years. Japan has long laid claims to the islets in the country’s school textbooks and government reports.