Japan protests South Korean military drills near disputed islands

Japan has lodged a protest over South Korean military exercises conducted on Friday near disputed Sea of Japan islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, protested to Kim Yong-gil, minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, saying that the islands are an inherent part of Japanese territory historically and under international law.