Japan says historic maps bolster claim to islands controlled by South Korea

Five old maps have gone on display in the southern Japanese city of Matsue, supposedly providing fresh evidence that islands held by South Korea and known as Dokdo are in fact Japanese territory.

Tokyo claims the two rocky outcrops, approximately 157 kilometres from the Oki Islands, should be listed as the Japanese islands of Takeshima.

Shimane Prefecture officials located the maps, which date from the late Edo period (1603 to 1868), in local collections and copies have been put on display in a prefectural office.

"We are preparing for the annual Takeshima Day event on February 22 and wanted to display these maps in the run-up to that," Hitoshi Tsumori told the South China Morning Post.

"It is the position of the government here that these islands are part of Shimane Prefecture and we just want them to be returned to our control."

He declined to say comment on whether senior government members would attend this year's Takeshima Day events.

Last year, the South Korean government reacted furiously after Aiko Shimajiri, a parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, became the first high-ranking representative of the government to attend the event, which has been staged since 2006. A further 20 politicians also attended, while prefectural governor Zembee Mizoguchi unveiled a petition demanding a solution to the long-running dispute.