On January 28, 1905, the Japanese Cabinet formally adopted a resolution incorporating the island of Dokdo/Takeshima as Japanese territory. Justifying the incorporation based on the claim that Dokdo/Takeshima was “an uninhabited island with no evidence that can be recognizable as having been occupied by another country (無人島ハ他國ニ於テ之ヲ占領シタリト認ムヘキ形迹ナク …”, the Japanese government then renamed the island Takeshima (竹島) and placed its jurisdiction under Shimane Prefecture, which in turn put it under the magistracy of Oki Island. This action by the Japanese government was strongly disputed by the Republic of Korea, igniting a bitter controversy between the two Asian neighbors. Following Japan's defeat in the Pacific War in 1945, Korea, claiming historical rights, regained its control over the island. Japan regards this as an illegal occupation based on its 1905 incorporation. This article offers a historical perspective on the Dokdo/Takeshima controversy by examining the historical claims made by both Japan and South Korea.

In earlier issues of APJ, we introduced three image-driven treatments of protest in prewar and postwar Japan: Andrew Gordon, “Social Protest in Imperial Japan: The Hibiya Riot of 1905”; Christopher Gerteis, “Political Protest in Interwar Japan: Posters & Handbills from the Ohara Collection (1920s-1930s,” part 1 & part 2; Linda Hoaglund, “Protest Art in 1950s Japan: The Forgotten Reportage Painters.” The following “visual essay” by Justin Jesty, also from MIT's online Visualizing Cultures project [visualizingcultures.mit.edu], addresses perhaps the most famous of all 20th-century Japanese political protests: the 1960 demonstrations against renewal of the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty. Based on unrestricted access to the classic photojournalism of Hamaya Hiroshi, “Tokyo 1960: Days of Rage and Grief” is a vivid reminder of the breadth and dynamism of grassroots movements in early postwar Japan.

As the Japanese government intensifies its crackdown versus demonstrators blocking construction of a new Pentagon base on Okinawa, the United States Marine Corps has waded into the fray with a series of accusations against activists - followed by the arrest of two peace campaigners.

Between January and February, three senior USMC officials accused anti-base campaigners of “hate speech”, “mob rule” and “faking injuries” while on February 22, base security guards seized two demonstrators - only to see them released the next day.