Japan plans to take up with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) unilaterally its territorial dispute with South Korea after the latter rejected a joint move on the issue.
Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba issued a statement on Thursday after Seoul officially rejected Tokyo's proposal to jointly refer the dispute over the Takeshima islets in the Sea of Japan to the U.N.-backed ICJ.
The statement said the Japanese government had expected South Korea to accept its proposal and explain the country's position at the ICJ as its government had been calling for a "global Korea."
It expressed disappointment over what it termed South Korea's failure to offer any substantive counter-proposals to resolve the issue, Japanese media reported.
The statement said Japan would continue to take appropriate measures, including taking the dispute unilaterally to the ICJ, to resolve it calmly and peacefully based on international laws.
Relations between Tokyo and Seoul have soured ever since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to the disputed Takeshima islands earlier this month. South Koreans have reacted sharply to Japan claiming the islands as its territory.
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