S. Korea bans Japanese lawmakers in island row
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South Korean protesters hold portraits of Yoshitaka Shindo (center), Domomi Inada (right) and Masahisa Sato (left), all from Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party, during an anti-Japan rally in front of the arrival gate at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul on Monday. Jung Yeon-Je / Agence France-Presse |
SEOUL, South Korea - Three Japanese lawmakers arrived in South Korea on a high-profile trip to an island near a set of disputed islets claimed by both countries, snubbing Seoul's warning to ban their entry.
Yoshitaka Shindo, Domomi Inada and Masahisa Sato, all members of Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party, arrived at Seoul's Gimpo International Airport earlier in the day on their way to the South Korean island of Ulleung, located some 90 kilometers away from the disputed islets.
Immigration officials denied their entry, but the three lawmakers have yet to leave. Angry protesters staged demonstrations, throwing curry sauce on the floor, setting pictures of the lawmakers on fire and chanting anti-Japan slogans.
The move is seen as the latest in a series of attempt by Japan to lay territorial claims to the set of rocky outcroppings lying halfway between the two countries, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
South Korea, which controls the East Sea islands, had officially notified Japan it would not authorize the conservative lawmakers' visit, voicing concerns for the lawmakers' safety and bilateral ties with Japan.
The much-publicized visit by the conservative lawmakers copped some harsh criticism in South Korea, whose conflict-ridden relations with Japan date back to Tokyo's brutal 1910-1945 colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
"The Japanese lawmakers have revealed their ulterior motives of stirring up territorial disputes over Dokdo by visiting South Korea despite diplomatic efforts by the South Korean government," the ruling Grand National Party said.
Xinhua
(China Daily 08/02/2011 page12)
