Shimane Residents Have Mixed Feelings Ahead Of Takeshima Day
Shimane Prefecture residents and historical researchers have expressed mixed feelings ahead of Takeshima Day, designated by local ordinance in 2005 and set to be marked Saturday under considerable scrutiny because of a territorial row with South Korea.
They are concerned their local activities for preserving the memory of the islets may be politicized amid the deterioration of the Japan-South Korea relationships and portrayed as ideological, local residents say.
Yumiko Sugihara, 70, is one of those residents. She moved to the Kumi district of Okinoshima town in the prefecture after retiring as an elementary school teacher in Tokyo.
