Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba is claiming that South Korea is illegally occupying the Dokdo islets in the East Sea.

Gemba made such a claim when he appeared before the Upper House on Wednesday, saying Japan cannot exercise its jurisdiction over the islets because of South Korea’s occupation. He continued that President Lee Myung-bak's recent trip to the islets was illegal because of South Korea's illegal occupation.

When the Liberal Democratic Party was in power, the Japanese government adhered to a position that South Korea was illegally taking over the Dokdo islets. The government then softened such a stance when the Democratic Party of Japan came into power in 2009 and said South Korea’s occupation of the Dokdo islets has no legal ground.

The Japanese government also held a news conference attended by foreign press reporters and distributed an ancient map that mislabels the Dokdo islets and claimed the volcanic outcroppings belong to Japan.