Territory and Sovereignty Exhibition Hall at the Shisei Kaikan building in downtown Tokyo. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A Japanese exhibition hall aimed at promoting the country’s claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo will be relocated near the Korean Cultural Center developed by the Korean government in Tokyo.
According to the Japanese daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun, the Territory and Sovereignty Exhibition Hall that opened at the Shisei Kaikan building near Hibiya Park in downtown Tokyo in January will be relocated to a venue close to Yotsuya Station in Shinjuku, one of the most densely populated areas in the Japanese capital.
Yotsuya is also in close proximity to the Korean Cultural Center.
The Korean Cultural Center hosts various Korea-related exhibitions and events, and many Japanese K-pop fans are known to frequent the premises. In addition, Korean government agencies are located in the area.
The Korean Cultural Center is also a place where Japanese right-wing activists tend to hold demonstrations. In 2015, an arsonist attempted to start a fire at the center.
The new exhibition hall will be located in a building complex currently under construction near Yotsuya Station, providing information on Japanese claims to Russian territory also under despite between the two nations.
The dispute, known as the Kuril Islands dispute in Russia, is also known as the Northern Territories dispute in Japan.
The current exhibition offers the Japanese take on Dokdo and Senkakau in the East China Sea, also known as Diaoyu in China.
But the relocation is surprising as it comes less than five months after the exhibition hall’s official opening, which was commemorated with much pomp and circumstance in the presence of big name politicians.
Political analysts say that this is an intentional move by the Japanese government to relocate the exhibition hall to a location near the Korean Cultural Center that is a population destination for K-pop fans.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
