Ancient map of Japan adds further evidence to China's ownership over Diaoyu Islands

(Photo/huanqiu.com)

An ancient map of Japan has provided further evidence to the fact that the Diaoyu Islands are an inseparable part of Chinese territory and the islets of Dokdo, called Takeshima in Japan, are in the sea of South Korea.

The map was unveiled by Japanese historian Norio Kuboi at the publication ceremony of the Korean version of his book about facts of the Dokdo islets, held in Busan, South Korea, Aug. 24, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

In the map, the Diaoyu Islands were painted the same color as the Chinese mainland, indicating that they were Chinese territory, the South Korean news agency said.

Illustrated Outline of the Three Countries (San Guo Tong Lan Tu Shuo), a book written by Japanese scholar Hayashi Shihei, was also displayed at the ceremony.

Kuboi said the Japanese government strongly dislikes the book. The scholar said he just wants to explore historical facts and criticized the Japanese government for faking ancient maps and distorting the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands and the Dokdo islets.

Lu Hao, a research fellow at the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said San Guo Tong Lan Tu Shuo represents the stance of Japanese folk scholars during the Meiji period, and is valuable proof of China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.

The Japanese government refuses to recognize the map, but they used to present it to the U.S. to prove that the Bonin Islands belong to Japan, Lu said, adding that there are many other historical proofs of China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and the map is just one of them.