Japan’s Territorial Claim to Korea’s Dokdo: The Voice of the National Diet

This paper investigates Japan’s persistent territorial claim to Dokdo despite the lack of critical historical evidence and support in international law. Through both qualitative and quantitative analyses of approximately 70 years of speeches on Dokdo by members of Japan’s National Diet, this study explores and analyzes how, when, and under what specific domestic political economic contexts Japan has argued for its territorial claim to Dokdo. Various comparative analyses of Dokdo-related speeches by issue areas, speakers, political party affiliations, ruling parties, and Japanese cabinets are conducted to probe the logic behind the Japan’s territorial claim over Dokdo. The paper proves that right-wing conservative politicians in Japan tend to use the Dokdo events as a way of boosting cabinet approval ratings and appeal to nationalist sentiments in the hope of diverting citizen attention from socio-economic difficulties.