Japan has protested a South Korean lawmaker’s recent visit to the Dokdo islets. 

The Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday that it complained to Seoul over the visit despite Tokyo's prior protests and calls for cancelling the trip. 

The ministry was speaking on a trip by Rep. Hong Suk-joon of the main opposition People Power Party on Liberation Day Sunday.

Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of the ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, called on Tuesday and lodged a complaint with Kim Yong-gil, minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo. 

In the call, Funakoshi reportedly conveyed his government's position that Hong's trip is unacceptable as Takeshima is Japanese territory historically and by international law. Japan also reportedly called on Seoul to prevent a recurrence of the incident. 

Kim is said to have rejected the call, saying that Dokdo is clearly South Korean territory.