Japan said Friday it lodged a protest with South Korea over military drills conducted in waters near South Korean-controlled, Japanese-claimed islets in the Sea of Japan.
Hiroyuki Namazu, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told a minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo that the drills, reportedly held in mid-December, were "totally unacceptable and extremely regrettable," according to the ministry.
The ministry quoted Namazu as saying the islets are an integral part of Japanese territory in light of historical facts and based on international law.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported earlier Friday that the country's navy had held regular drills around the islets, citing a military official.
The navy conducted the drills in mid-December on a similar scale as the last ones in June, the report said, adding the exercises were the fourth under the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The disputed islets are called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.