67 pct of Japanese see Dokdo as their land: survey

Some seven out of 10 Japanese people regard South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as their territory, with 90 percent being aware of a diplomatic row between the two countries over it, a survey showed Thursday.

According to the survey of 440 Japanese citizens and students on the Dokdo issue, 91 percent said they have heard of Japan's diplomatic tension with South Korea over Dokdo, the rocky outcroppings in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Of the respondents, 67 percent said they think the rocky outcroppings are their country's territory, and 2 percent said the opposite, with 27 percent answering they do not have knowledge about it.

The survey was conducted last year by Kim Mi-kyung, a professor at Hiroshima City University in Japan.

Asked about chances of armed conflicts between Seoul and Tokyo over the islets, 43 percent said it was unlikely, followed by 30 percent saying they have no idea and 22 percent answering it was possible, according to the survey.

"More than 70 percent of the respondents said they are aware of where Dokdo is located.

The clash of Japanese and Chinese vessels near Senkaku Islands, in particular, appeared to boost interest among the Japanese in territorial disputes with neighboring countries," Kim said.

Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the East Sea, has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries.

South Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.

Relations between South Korea and Japan have been frayed since President Lee Myung-bak made a visit to Dokdo in August, the first by a South Korean president, and Japan strongly protested the move and renewed its claim to the East Sea islets.

As for the Tokyo-Beijing dispute over a separate set of islets in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, 96 percent of the respondents said they have heard of the conflict, and 69 percent said the islands are part of their territory.

The opinion on possible armed conflicts between the two over the islets was split with 30 percent each, according to the survey.