Sanae Takaichi claims Dokdo, advocates for ministerial attendance at 'Takeshima Day' event

TOKYO — Sanae Takaichi, one of the leading candidates to become the next leader of Japan’s ruling party, said Japanese ministers should attend an annual event that claims Korea’s Dokdo is Japanese territory.

Takaichi, the former minister in charge of economic security, said that cabinet ministers should attend the annual “Takeshima Day” event in a candidate debate for the leadership of Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) on Saturday.

Japan officially claims sovereignty over the Korean island of Dokdo, referring to it as Takeshima, and administratively includes it under Shimane Prefecture. Since 2006, Shimane Prefecture has held “Takeshima Day” ceremonies each year, and has repeatedly asked ministers to attend, but the Japanese government has withheld ministerial attendance in consideration of Japan-Korea relations.

Takaichi commented that regarding the “Takeshima Day” memorial ceremony held annually by Shimane Prefecture on Feb. 22, “ideally a minister should go proudly on behalf of the government,” adding that "there is no need to worry about how the other side sees it," according to Japanese media such as Asahi Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Sanae characterized the issue as “one that everyone should know as Japanese territory,” reaffirming Japan’s territorial claim.

Since 2013, parliamentary vice-ministers of the Cabinet Office have attended these ceremonies. Asahi noted that ministerial-level attendance could provoke a strong backlash from Korea.

Meanwhile, in the run-up to the LDP leadership election scheduled for Saturday, Takaichi’s rival Shinjiro Koizumi, current agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister, has come under fire after his campaign team was accused of paying people to upload online comments siding with his own team and derogating the opponent.

Koizumi addressed the issue on Saturday, saying, “I take final responsibility for what happened in the campaign camp” and pledging, “I want to proceed through to the end with vigilance so this never happens again.”  

In response to the allegations, Karen Makishima, formerly Minister of Digital Affairs and the campaign’s general affairs and publicity chief, resigned from her post as publicity head.

Critics argued the scandal undermined the fairness of the leadership race, but at a debate the same day, the other four candidates did not strongly press the matter.  

Takayuki Kobayashi, former minister of economic security, said, “Koizumi apologized and has committed to preventing recurrence — I hope the debate stays constructive.”  

Toshimitsu Motegi, former party secretary-general, acknowledged that “Koizumi clearly feels responsibility,” urging fairness from all sides.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi remarked, “Maybe even if we had stayed out of it, such favorable comments might have come out — it’s a pity.”

Takaichi responded, “I share the same view.” 

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY JUNG WON-SEOK [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]