China rebukes Japan after it opens museum for disputed islands
Tokyo museum features documents and photos defending Japan’s claims to islands that China and South Korea also see as theirs
China on Friday said it was “strongly dissatisfied” with the opening of a museum in Tokyo devoted to disputed islands, as the Japanese foreign minister prepares to visit Beijing this weekend.
The museum, which opened on Thursday and is run by the Japanese government, displays documents and photographs defending Japan’s claims over two sets of islands that China and South Korea also see as their own.
Japan has a long-standing dispute with China over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are administered by Japan, where they are known as Senkaku, but also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.
Tokyo also claims islands in the Sea of Japan that are controlled by South Korea. They are known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese.
South Korea immediately demanded the closure of the museum as it denounced Japan’s “unjustifiable claims” to its “inherent territory”.
China said on Friday that the Diaoyu Islands had been its “inherent territory since ancient times”.