JAPAN TIMES



 

The government will send Parliamentary Vice Minister for the Cabinet Office Naoki Furukawa to this year's annual ceremony for the Takeshima Islands, minister for territorial issues Jiro Akama has said.

Furukawa will attend the Takeshima Day ceremony in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, planned for Sunday. The Sea of Japan islands are now under the effective control of South Korea, which calls them Dokdo.

In last year's leadership race of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi, who was later elected prime minister, argued that the central government should have a Cabinet minister attend the ceremony.

She apparently changed her position in light of improving ties between Japan and South Korea, especially as China ramps up pressure on Tokyo.

The decision to send Furukawa was "the result of consideration within the government based on various circumstances," Akama told a news conference.