Event held in Japan to claim South Korea-held islets amid improving ties

An annual ceremony was held in western Japan on Thursday to press the country's claim to a group of South Korea-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan, a long-standing sticking point in bilateral ties that have recently been improving.Shimane Gov. Tatsuya Maruyama urged the central government to promote talks with South Korea toward a solution of the territorial dispute over Takeshima at the commemoration day event organized by the prefectural government. The islets are called Dokdo in South Korea."Takeshima is an inherent territory of Japan," Maruyama said, underscoring that the prefectural…READ FULL ARTICLE