Shimane Prefecture reopened Wednesday a library dedicated to materials on Takeshima, a set of rocky outcroppings in the Sea of Japan controlled by South Korea and claimed by Japan.
The renovated space features additional displays on the pair of islets, including one on a visit there by South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in August that drew a sharp rebuke from Japan. Japan says the islands are part of Shimane.
The library has added new panel displays covering issues such as responses by the Japanese and South Korean governments and the mechanisms of the International Court of Justice with which the central government is making arrangements to unilaterally lodge a case to assert its territorial claim.
The library stores about 1,200 items, including books, documents and maps on Takeshima, which is known as Dokdo in South Korea. With the renovation, its exhibition space was expanded to 80 sq. meters from 60 sq. meters.
Originally established in April 2007 at a branch office of the prefectural government, the library was moved to another location inside the same building in June for earthquake proofing.
The islets are roughly equidistant from Honshu and the Korean Peninsula, lying about 157 km northwest of the Oki Islands in Shimane and roughly 90 km southeast of South Korea's Ulleungdo Island.