Japan has lodged a protest with South Korea over its plans to build tourism facilities on the Takeshima islets, which are at the center of a territorial dispute between the 2 countries.

The Japanese Ambassador in Seoul, Masatoshi Muto, urged South Korea to cancel the project, when he met first vice foreign minister Park Suk-hwan on Friday.

Muto said Japan regards Takeshima as inherently Japanese, and that South Korea's newly revealed construction plans, if true, are unacceptable.

Park argued that the islets, called Dokdo in South Korea, belong to his country. But he added the government has not decided anything yet regarding the project.

On Thursday, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced plans to build a breakwater, a new pier, an undersea park and a wave-energy power plant on the islets, starting in 2013.

The project could heighten diplomatic tensions between the 2 countries.

Last spring, South Korea reacted sharply to Japan's approval of junior high school textbooks describing the islets as Japanese territory.

Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111125_34.html

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