Three Faults of Japan''s Claim to Dokdo

This is the fifth in a series of articles highlighting Dokdo’s history, environment, old maps and folklore, possibility of the international court decision on the East Sea islets and law of the sea. The series is the joint project of The Korea Times and the Northeast Asian History Foundation. ― ED.

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

An ethnic Japanese Korean expert on Dokdo has said that the Japanese government has officially denied its sovereignty over Dokdo three times in the past.

''The top Japanese authorities made the denials back in 1695, 1870 and 1877, while the Korean government has never denied its sovereignty over Dokdo, which proves the islets in the East Sea are part of Korean territory in history,'' Professor Hosaka Yuji at Sejong University''s College of Liberal Arts said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

Born in 1956 in Japan, Hosaka graduated from the University of Tokyo and earned his master''s and doctorate degree in politics from Korea University in Seoul. He acquired Korean citizenship in 2003.

* You can find the full text at <The Korea Times>.