The council plans to erect the statue on Dec. 14 to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the first statue, placed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, in 2011. / Graphic by Cho Sang-won



By Lee Han-soo

Japan's Foreign Minister called South Korea's easternmost island of Dokdo a "Japanese territory" on Tuesday, in an angry reaction to a provincial council's move to erect a controversial "comfort women" statue on the island.

"Takeshima is Japanese territory," Kishida Fumio said, referring to Dokdo's Japanese name, during a meeting with reporters.

The remark comes a day after the 34 members of Gyeonggi Province Council said they will start a fund to build a comfort women statue on the island. "Comfort women" refers to Korean women Japan put into sexual slavery before and during World War II.

The council plans to erect the statue on Dec. 14 to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the first statue, placed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, in 2011.

The plan also caused controversy in Korea, with other province council members questioning if Dokdo is a suitable location.

"The plan can have a huge diplomatic kickback as it combines two different disputes," a North Gyeongsang Province Council member, whose district includes Dokdo, said. "Dokdo is a territorial dispute, while the statue is about Japan's wartime sexual slavery." The council member said the plan should be approached with caution.

South Korea and Japan have been in conflict over the recent placement of a comfort women statue in Busan.

The Japanese government, angered by the statue symbolizing Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, took several retaliatory steps, including recalling its ambassador to Korea and its consul-general in Busan earlier this month.