A Japanese daily says Tokyo has defied Seoul's request that Japanese warships attending the South Korean Navy's international fleet review next month participate without hoisting the Rising Sun flag.

According to Asahi Shimbun Friday, an official from the Defense Ministry in Tokyo called Seoul's request "senseless," adding it will reconsider attending the event should Seoul force Japanese warships to not fly the Rising Sun flag.

The South Korean Navy recently sent out an official document to 15 participating countries, asking their warships hoist only their national flag and the South Korean flag during the event from October tenth to the 14th on Jeju Island.

The Rising Sun flag, which the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has used since its launch in 1954, is symbolic of Japan's past imperialism and inflames public sentiment in South Korea, where historical animosity over the country's past wrongdoings still runs deep.