Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Masatoshi Muto has returned to his post after Tokyo called him home 12 days ago in protest of President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the Dokdo Islets.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters Wednesday morning that his government decided to send Muto back to Seoul following his return to Japan on August tenth.

A diplomatic source says his reinstatement can be interpreted as Japan normalizing diplomatic communications with South Korea.