The Japanese government will reportedly dispatch a vice minister-level official to an annual ceremony for the Takeshima islets, Japan’s name for South Korea’s Dokdo islets in the East Sea.

According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, Tokyo plans to send Shojiro Hiranuma, parliamentary vice minister of the Cabinet Office, to Thursday's annual ceremony for the islands of Takeshima held in Shimane Prefecture. 

The Japanese government has sent a parliamentary vice minister every year to the annual event since 2013 and the Fumio Kishida administration has followed suit since its launch in October 2021. 

In March 2005, Shimane Prefecture adopted an ordinance designating February 22 as Takeshima Day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the prefecture claiming control of the islets. 

The prefectural government has called for the participation of the prime minister and Cabinet members in the annual event, but the Japanese government has sent a parliamentary vice minister.