【2月22日は「竹島の日」】今年は島根県が条例を制定して“20年”　なぜ韓国との間で争いが生じたのか…　竹島に思いをはせる人たちの証言から竹島問題を考える

February 22nd is "Takeshima Day." This year marks the 20th anniversary of Shimane Prefecture's enactment of the Takeshima ordinance. The Takeshima issue shows no signs of resolution yet. Why did the conflict with South Korea arise in the first place? We revisit the issue through the testimonies of people with close ties to the island. Takeshima, a small, isolated island in the Sea of ​​Japan off Okinoshima Town, Shimane Prefecture, is Japanese territory located 157 kilometers northwest of the Oki Islands. However, due to South Korea's illegal occupation, Japanese people have been unable to set foot on the island for over 70 years. Takeshima was once a popular destination for fishermen from both San'in and San'in prefectures. Maps of the island were already created in the early Edo period. A variety of seafood was caught in the surrounding waters, and fishermen particularly sought out sea lions. Their skin was used for bags and their oil for soap. Hunting In the late Meiji period, overhunting of sea lions progressed, leading to growing calls from local communities for stabilizing the fishing industry. The government then incorporated Takeshima into Shimane Prefecture and made sea lion hunting a permit requirement. The day this incorporation into Shimane was announced to the local community was February 22nd, now known as "Takeshima Day." ■ Thoughts of a Man Who Visited Takeshima Many Times Shotaro Hamada (65), a resident of Okinoshima Town, made frequent visits to Takeshima. He traveled to the island on a boat he built himself, and would happily recount his experiences to his wife and daughter-in-law, Yoshiko. Yoshiko, 80, Shotaro Hamada's stepdaughter "The seaweed was so huge it floated like kelp, and the turban shells and abalone were two or three times the size of normal shells. He was a man who loved Takeshima and always talked about it." Last year, a transcript of Hamada's testimony was found in his home. During the postwar occupation, Japanese people were barred from approaching Takeshima for a time, but Hamada apparently managed to reach the island by pretending his boat was broken down. There, he witnessed an unexpected sight. ~Notes transcribed from Hamada's testimony~ "There were more than 50 Koreans harvesting and drying seaweed." "When we protested, saying, 'Takeshima is an important Japanese island and Japanese territory, so please go home quickly,' the Koreans clearly refused in Japanese, saying, 'We don't know whether this island belongs to Japan or Korea, but we come here every year to harvest seaweed.'" Fearing for his life, Hamada was forced to turn back. It was the first time a Japanese person had witnessed Koreans fishing on Takeshima. Yoshiko Hamada, stepdaughter of Shotaro Hamada (80) "He's not the most talkative person, so I'm amazed that he told 50 people to go home in front of him. I think that shows how much he wanted Takeshima returned." Four months later, in September 1951, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed, officially making Takeshima Japanese territory under international law. However, just before the treaty came into effect, South Korea unilaterally defined the scope of its maritime sovereignty. Takeshima was included on the Korean side of the boundary known as the "Syngman Rhee Line." Approaching Japanese patrol boats were even fired upon by the Korean side. This marked the beginning of illegal occupation. ■The man who hunted sea lions on Takeshima... Yoshiki Maeda (73), a resident of Okinoshima Town, whose grandfather, Minetaro, once hunted sea lions on Takeshima. Yoshiki Maeda "The sea lion handlers kept them in these cages and continued to hunt at a rate of 2,000 to 3,000 per year." In May 1954, two years after the establishment of the Syngman Rhee Line, Minetaro visited Takeshima with local fishermen. Yoshiki Maeda "Apparently they were dispatched in secret around 10 p.m., but if they tried to go quietly they would be shot, so they were told, 'It's dangerous, risk your life.'" Protected by a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat, Minetaro and his crew collected abalone and other fish before returning safely. However, when word spread, South Korea stationed armed guards on Takeshima and established a lighthouse and accommodation. Minetaro and his crew's fishing trip around Takeshima was the last for Japanese people. In 2005, in an effort to build momentum toward establishing territorial rights over Takeshima, the prefecture enacted a bylaw designating February 22 as "Takeshima Day." A commemorative ceremony is held annually in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Shimane Prefecture has requested that a cabinet minister attend, but this has been declined each year, and instead, only a parliamentary vice-minister has continued to attend. Meanwhile, last year, not only did South Korean members of the National Assembly visit Takeshima, but military exercises were also conducted there twice. Yoshiki Maeda "My grandfather just wanted to go back to Takeshima. H...