Japan Protests S. Korean Maritime Survey off Disputed Isles

Tokyo, Aug. 8 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese Foreign Ministry has protested against a South Korean maritime research vessel's activities in Japan's exclusive economic zone near islets in the Sea of Japan claimed by Tokyo and effectively controlled by Seoul.

Masaaki Kanai, director-general of the ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a strong protest Friday with Lee Sang-yeol, deputy chief of mission at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, saying the ship was conducting research without prior consent from Japan.

According to the ministry, the South Korean vessel was found dropping what appeared to be a wire into the sea in Japan's EEZ near the islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

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