Security guards keep watch next to the Olympic Rings while people take part in a protest against the hosting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in front of the headquarters building of the Japanese Olympic Committee in Tokyo, on May 18 2021. – AFP photo
MOSCOW (June 2): Members of the South Korean Progressive University Student Union set a Japanese flag on fire for the second day in a row in protest against Japan’s claim of South Korea’s Eastern islets of Dokdo, Sputnik reported, quoting a Yonhap News Agency report
The students burned a Rising Sun Flag which was previously used by the Japanese imperial army.
“Tokyo Olympics (organisers) and the Japanese government are strongly condemned for claiming Dokdo as Japanese territory,” the students wrote on the flag, as quoted by the news agency, before setting it on fire. The scene unfolded in front of the Dongnimmun Independence Gate in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
The incident occurred after Tokyo Olympics organisers marked the Dokdo islets on the Tokyo Olympics website as Japanese territory. Seoul contacted a senior Japanese diplomat in an attempt to resolve the issue.
An unreported gathering formed around the event and a police investigation is underway because it is alleged that the students may have violated the assembly and demonstrations law.
Three members of the activist group were arrested on Tuesday for the same act.
The Dokdo islets are located in the Sea of Japan but have been controlled by South Korea, however, the country’s sovereignty over them is disputed by Japan. The area is rich in fish and hydrate gas. – Bernama