South Korean Cuts Finger in Protest Against Japan

A South Korean almost severed his own finger Thursday in a solo protest against Japan's renewed claims to disputed islets, police told Agence France Presse.

The 47-year-old identified only by his surname Choi shouted "Japanese ambassador apologize!" outside the Japanese embassy, with his left little finger almost severed, an officer told AFP.

He threatened to commit suicide and pointed a knife at his jugular. Police took him to a nearby hospital.

The protester scattered leaflets denouncing Japan's textbooks and its claim to the rocky islets in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

South Korea has been trying to strengthen its control over Dokdo after Japan last month authorized a set of new school textbooks reasserting claims to the islands.

It is now pushing to build a maritime research base off the islands and parliament has passed a resolution condemning Japan.