Three Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who were denied entry by South Korea when they tried to visit an island near disputed territory in the Sea of Japan remain undeterred, although their actions ratcheted up diplomatic tension with Seoul.
Team leader Yoshitaka Shindo said the visit to Ulleungdo, the administrative and military base overseeing the disputed rocky islets known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, was made in peace, and that he hopes friendly relations between the two countries will be maintained.
"Our purpose wasn't to make a fuss," claimed Shindo, who flew back to Haneda airport with LDP colleagues Tomomi Inada and Masahisa Sato, on Monday evening after spending about nine hours at Seoul's Gimpo International Airport. "We didn't go there to claim our territorial rights."