Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Japan protests South Korean drills near disputed Dokdo islets
Japan and South Korea are neighbours who disagree about who owns two small islands in the sea between them.
South Korea calls the islands Dokdo, and Japan calls them Takeshima.
South Korea's navy practised defending the islands in a training exercise.
Japan was not happy about this and officially complained.
A Japanese official named Masaaki Kanai told South Korea's embassy that Japan still thinks the islands belong to Japan.
Just a few days earlier, Japan had written in a government paper that it claims the islands.
South Korea also protested about that paper and asked a Japanese diplomat to come in for a talk.
A South Korean government spokesperson said the islands belong to South Korea and called Japan's claim unfair.
South Korea said it is ready to firmly respond to any provocations from Japan.
Japan lodged a strong protest with South Korea over a South Korean Navy defence drill near the disputed islets in the Sea of Japan.
Masaaki Kanai, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, renewed Japan's territorial claim on the islets.
The disputed islets are called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
The South Korean Navy exercise was the first such defence drill in 2026 and was described as regular and similar in scale to previous drills.
The drill came days after Japan renewed its claim to Dokdo in its latest defence white paper; South Korea had earlier summoned a Japanese diplomat to protest that claim.
- Who
- Japan's Foreign Ministry official Masaaki Kanai, the South Korean Navy, South Korea's foreign ministry and its spokesperson Park Doo-soon, and Japanese diplomat Kazuo Tsuchiya.
- What
- Japan lodged a strong protest over South Korean Navy defence drills near the disputed Dokdo/Takeshima islets, while South Korea protested Japan's renewed territorial claim in its defence white paper.
- When
- Thursday, days after Japan's latest defence white paper was released.
- Where
- Near the disputed islets in the Sea of Japan, with protests lodged in Tokyo and Seoul.
- Why
- The two countries dispute sovereignty over the islets, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
South Korea's Position
Japan's Position
Sovereignty over the islets
South Korea's Position
Dokdo is South Korean territory under history, geography and international law; Japan's claim is unjust and has no impact on South Korea's sovereignty.
Japan's Position
Japan claims the islets (Takeshima) as its own territory and renewed this claim in its latest defence white paper.
Legitimacy of the defence drills
South Korea's Position
The East Sea defence drills are a regular annual exercise aimed at countering threats to South Korea's territory, people and property.
Japan's Position
Japan views the drills near the disputed islets as unacceptable and lodged a strong protest against them.
- Disputed islets
- Dokdo (South Korean name) / Takeshima (Japanese name)
- Drill type
- South Korean Navy East Sea defence drill, first such exercise in 2026
- Japan's protest
- Lodged by Masaaki Kanai with the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo
- South Korea's protest
- Summoned Kazuo Tsuchiya, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul
- Trigger
- Japan renewed its territorial claim to Dokdo in its latest defence white paper
- South Korea's position
- Islets are South Korean territory under history, geography and international law
- South Korean statement
- Drills are held regularly each year to counter threats to territory, people and property