Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Enactment of the Law concerning the "Sustainable Use" of Takeshima by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea

May 2, 2005

On April 26, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea enacted a law concerning the "sustainable use" of Takeshima. This is absolutely incompatible with the stance of the Government of Japan concerning the sovereignty over Takeshima, and is extremely regrettable.
Accordingly Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, summoned Mr. Choo Kyu-ho, Minister of the Embassy of the ROK, to the Foreign Ministry in the afternoon of April 27 to protest the enactment of the law and request an appropriate response, and handed a Note Verbale to that effect.
On the issue of sovereignty over Takeshima, Mr. Nobutaka Machimura, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the ROK, confirmed at the Japan-ROK Foreign Ministerial Meeting on April 7 that from a broader perspective it was important to continue making efforts to maintain the friendly relationship between the two countries, while being aware of the stances of both sides. The Government of Japan, therefore, strongly requests the ROK side not to repeat this kind of activity which could inflame emotional antagonism between the two peoples.

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