China News Service, August 18, according to comprehensive foreign media reports, on August 16, the Ministry of Defense of Japan released a "Defense White Paper" for elementary and middle school students on its official website, which included the disputed islands between Japan and South Korea. , Japanese called "Takeshima") marked as Japanese territory, triggering South Korean protests.

  According to reports, this is the first time that the Ministry of Defense has produced materials related to the white paper for children.

This "Children's White Paper" has 30 pages. It introduces the contents of Japan's 2021 "Defense White Paper" in simple and easy-to-understand language, and summarizes the analysis of Japan's surrounding security environment and the activities of the Self-Defense Forces.

  According to the report, in the map describing the "sea and air vigilance surveillance status" around Japan, the "Children's White Paper" directly wrote the disputed islands between Japan and South Korea as "Takeshima" and painted them within Japan's territory.

  Regarding this move by the Japanese side, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated to the Japanese side: “Dokdo belongs to South Korea’s inherent territory regardless of history, geography, or international law. South Korea strongly protests this and urges Japan to delete the map."

Data map: Japan and South Korea disputed islands (called "Take Island" in Japan, and "Dok Island" in South Korea).

  At the same time, Lee Sangyeol, Director of the Asia Pacific Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, and Kim Yong-gil, Minister of the Korean Embassy in Japan, respectively, through diplomatic channels, lodged protests with Japanese Minister Naoki Kumagaya and Acting Director of the Asian and Oceanian Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taisuke Minami through diplomatic channels.

  Regarding the purpose of making the "Children's White Paper", Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said: "This is to allow citizens to get in touch with the country's defense situation and deepen their understanding from the time they were students."

  On July 13, Japan released the 2021 edition of the "Defense White Paper", advocating sovereignty over "Takeshima" (Korean called "Dokdo").

This is also the 17th time Japan has written the island’s sovereignty into the "Defense White Paper" since 2005.