SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Thursday protested at Japan's repeated territorial claim to Dokdo islets, which are called Takeshima in Japan lying halfway between the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the South Korean government strongly protested at Japan's reiteration of the unjust sovereignty claim over Dokdo and sternly called for an immediate abolition of the so-called Takeshima Day event.

Earlier in the day, Japan's Shimane prefecture held what it called the Takeshima Day event, attended by a high-level official of Japan's central government.

The prefecture has held annual events to mark the day to claim its administrative sovereignty over the rocky islets since it designated Feb. 22 as Takeshima Day in 2005.

The South Korean foreign ministry stressed that Dokdo is clearly an integral part of the South Korean territory historically, geographically and by international law, urging Japan to immediately stop making an unjustified claim over Dokdo and squarely face history in a humble manner.

South Korea restored sovereignty over the Dokdo islets from Japan after the Korean Peninsula's liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonization.

South Koreans have regarded Japan's claim over the islets as the denial of atrocities committed by Japan during its colonial rule.

The foreign ministry summoned Taisuke Mibae, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to lodge a protest against the renewed territorial claim. Enditem

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