Skip to main content
CNN

Police: Man crashes Japanese embassy gate over disputed islands

By K.J. Kwon, CNN
updated 8:25 AM EDT, Mon July 9, 2012
The islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, pictured here in 2008, continue to be disputed.
The islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, pictured here in 2008, continue to be disputed.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • There were no reported casualties in the incident
  • Seoul police: Earlier, a Japanese man posted a sign claiming Japanese ownership
  • There is a long-running dispute over the islets between Japan and South Korea

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- A South Korean man crashed a small truck into the front gate of the Japanese embassy in Seoul on Monday in an apparent protest over the ownership of islands claimed by both countries, officials said.

The truck was slightly damaged, and there were no casualties after the 62-year-old hit the gate at 4:55 a.m., Seoul police said. The man was detained for questioning, and police plan to charge him within the next few days, police said.

A sign in the truck said, "Dokdo island is a Korean island."

Earlier, a Japanese man had posted a sign across from the embassy saying the islets are Japanese territory, police said.

Osamu Fujimura, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said the Japanese embassy in Seoul "filed a strong protest against the incident to the Foreign and Trade Ministry of South Korea and requested to take preventive measures."

The islets in the sea east of Korea, known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, have been a prickly issue for both countries. Japan has long claimed the islets as its territory, but Seoul said all Korean territory was returned after the country won independence from colonial rule by Japan in 1945.

CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
CNN Recommends
updated 10:26 AM EST, Wed February 6, 2013
Advocates say the exam includes unnecessarily invasive and irrelevant procedures -- like a so-called "two finger" test.
updated 7:09 PM EST, Tue February 5, 2013
Supplies of food, clothing and fuel are running short in Damascus and people are going hungry as the civil war drags on.
updated 1:01 PM EST, Wed February 6, 2013
Supporters of Richard III want a reconstruction of his head to bring a human aspect to a leader portrayed as a murderous villain.
updated 10:48 AM EST, Tue February 5, 2013
Robert Fowler spent 130 days held hostage by the same al Qaeda group that was behind the Algeria massacre. He shares his experience.
updated 12:07 AM EST, Wed February 6, 2013
As "We are the World" plays, a video shows what looks like a nuclear attack on the U.S. Jim Clancy reports on a bizarre video from North Korea.
The relationship is, once again, cold enough to make Obama's much-trumpeted "reset" in Russian-U.S. relations seem thoroughly off the rails.
Ten years on, what do you think the Iraq war has changed in you, and in your country? Send us your thoughts and experiences.
updated 7:15 AM EST, Tue February 5, 2013
Musician Daniela Mercury has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide over a career span of nearly 30 years.
Photojournalist Alison Wright travelled the world to capture its many faces in her latest book, "Face to Face: Portraits of the Human Spirit."
updated 7:06 PM EST, Tue February 5, 2013
Europol claims 380 soccer matches, including top level ones, were fixed - as the scandal widens, CNN's Dan Rivers looks at how it's done.
updated 7:37 AM EST, Wed February 6, 2013
That galaxy far, far away is apparently bigger than first thought. The "Star Wars" franchise will get two spinoff movies, Disney announced.
updated 2:18 AM EST, Fri February 8, 2013
It's an essential part of any trip, an activity we all take part in. Yet almost none of us are any good at it. Souvenir buying is too often an obligatory slog.
ADVERTISEMENT