Senior government officials have refused to attend an event this weekend at the world expo under way in South Korea to protest Seoul's handling of a territorial dispute, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.
Ministry Press Secretary Yutaka Yokoi told reporters it is "extremely regrettable" that South Korea has continued to display materials describing the South-held islets claimed by Japan as Dokdo in Korean at the Yeosu Expo, despite Tokyo's repeated requests not to do so.
In Seoul, an official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry said later Friday that Seoul regrets the Japanese decision not to attend the event.
Japan calls the islets Takeshima. Yokoi said Tokyo has also called on South Korea to avoid using "East Sea" to refer to the Sea of Japan at the expo, which is themed "The Living Ocean and Coast." But the request was also rejected.
Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Masatoshi Muto and other senior government officials will not take part in the "Japan Day" event Saturday, according to Yokoi.
