Japan decided to let a vice-minister level official of the government take part in the observation of "Day of Takeshima" which has been held so far within Shimane Prefecture.

The Japanese government was directly involved in the action to elevate the level of the event, not content with observing the ridiculous "Day of Takeshima" as an annual one. This indicates that the moves for territorial expansion are being pushed forward in an organized and systematic manner by the state as they are undisguised agitation of aggression by the Japanese authorities.

Japan has escalated its moves to grab Tok Islets, part of the inalienable territory of Korea, in a more cunning and despicable manner year by year.

In a bid to make its claim to Tok Islets a fait accompli Japan brought up the issue of Tok Islets for discussion on 126 occasions before and after its ratification of the convention of the UN Law on Sea in 1996 and the conclusion of the Japan-south Korea "fishery agreement" in 1998.

Japan's scenario to grab Tok Islets was put into practice with increased zeal in the new century.

The Japanese reactionaries prodded the Shimane Prefectural Assembly into instituting and proclaiming the "Day of Takeshima" and observing it as an annual event.

Japan made public a decision to use textbooks in which Tok Islets are mentioned as part of its "territory" at all elementary schools last year for the purpose of convincing the young Japanese of its claim to the islets.

Recently the Tokyo Metropolitan Education Committee made it clear that it would sharply increase the description about Tok Islets in the history textbook for Metropolis-run high schools from this spring. The textbook contained such new additions concerning Tok Islets, an indication of Japan's territorial ambition, as "in the middle of the 17th century Japan established dominium on Tok Islets and its intention of such dominium was reconfirmed by the decision of the Cabinet meeting in 1905."

The only reason for Japan to claim dominium on Tok Islets is that in 1905 when the Japanese imperialists illegally occupied Korea, Shimane Prefecture issued what it called an official gazette on bringing Tok Islets under its jurisdiction.

As the Japanese imperialists' aggression of Korea itself was an illegal and high-handed one, Shimane Prefecture's farce of bringing Tok Islets under its jurisdiction was a grave infringement upon the territorial sovereignty of the Korean nation.

The disposition of the Samurais desperately making their eyes at others' territories will never change.

Japan should draw a proper lesson from the shameful defeat the Japanese imperialists sustained while going wild to realize territorial aggrandizement.