Shimane Prefecture observes 4th 'Takeshima Day'+

MATSUE, Japan, Feb. 22 Kyodo - The Shimane prefectural government held a ceremony Sunday to mark the fourth ''Takeshima Day'' since the local authority designated Feb. 22 as a day to
promote Japan's claim to a disputed group of South Korean-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan.

There was no major disruption, except for a skirmish between several South
Korean protesters and police officers who tried to stop outdoor protests.
The South Korean government reacted sharply to the ''Takeshima Day'' events in
Shimane.
''The government expresses deep regrets that Japan's Shimane Prefecture had an
event to mark the 'Dokdo Day' despite our repeated request (not to do so),''
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae Young said in a statement
quoted by Yonhap News Agency.
Japan and South Korea claim the islets, called Dokdo in Korea.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry did not send an official for the fourth
consecutive year despite a request from the prefectural government.
House of Councillors member Eriko Yamatani of the ruling Liberal Democratic
Party gave a speech at the ceremony, the first parliamentarian to do so.
''The budget for the Takeshima issue should be increased and an effort made to
persuade international opinion,'' she said in the speech.
About 500 people attended the ceremony in the prefectural capital of Matsue.
In March 2005, Shimane Prefecture designated Feb. 22 as Takeshima Day to mark
the centennial of its 1905 declaration that the islets are part of the
prefecture.
South Korea's coast guard has been stationed on the largest of the Takeshima
islets since 1954, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
==Kyodo
2009-02-22 21:38:07