Naito Seichu, a Japanese historian well known for his research against Japan’s claims to Dokdo, died on Dec. 16 due to illness, Yonhap News reported. He was 82
He was emeritus professor at Shimane University in Japan.
Japan claims the official document dated 1905 from Japan’s Shimane prefectural government shows that the islets, called Takeshima in Japan, were pronounced as its territory.
But Seichu pointed out that in 1696, the ruler of Japan acknowledged that the islets were Korean territory.