South Korea summoned a senior Japanese diplomat here Monday to protest a Japanese prefecture's hosting of an annual event to promote its territorial claim to Seoul's easternmost islets of Dokdo, Yonhap news agency reported.
Japan's Shimane Prefecture, which claims administrative sovereignty over the rocky islets, observed the so-called Takeshima Day event on Sunday. A Japanese vice-minister-level official was sent to this year's ceremony, prompting a strong protest from South Korea.