Japan again claimed sovereignty over Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo in this year's annual diplomatic report and denied responsibility of its companies in relation to a lawsuit for compensation for South Koreans who were forced to work in the Japanese colonial era. At the same time, Japan hailed South Korea as a "partner" for the first time in 14 years and evaluated the relationship between the two countries as important in a stringent security environment.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun said on April 16, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa reported the 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook at a cabinet meeting on the same day. The Japanese government reiterated its previous claim that Dokdo is "Japan's inherent territory under international law, even in light of historical facts.” It has also maintained the phrase that South Korea is “illegally occupying” Dokdo for seven years since it was first used in the Diplomatic Bluebook in 2018.

Regarding the South Korean Supreme Court's rulings that ordered compensation for Japanese defendants in lawsuits filed by victims of wartime forced labor, the Diplomatic Bluebook said, "The Korean Supreme Court has confirmed the ruling ordering Japanese companies to pay damages for lawsuits in December 2023 and January 2024," adding, "The Japanese government protested these rulings and the case in which the deposits paid by Japanese companies to a Korean court in February 2024 were handed over to the plaintiff as they were extremely regrettable and unacceptable." The Japanese government has previously denied its companies' responsibility for compensation whenever a lawsuit against forced mobilization was ruled, and after the South Korean government suggested a "third-party reimbursement" solution in March of last year, the Japanese government has been pushing for a settlement through it.

However, Japan has emphasized the importance of its relationship with South Korea in its Diplomatic Bluebook, referring to South Korea as a "partner" for the first time in 14 years since the bluebook released in 2010. In particular, last year was described as "a year of great improvement in bilateral relations," with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul holding seven summits. "There has never been a time when close cooperation with South Korea has been more necessary than now," it said, given the tense security environment surrounding Japan.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a commentary that we “strongly protest against the Japanese government’s repeated inclusion of unjust sovereignty claims over Dokdo, which is clearly an integral part of the ROK territory historically, geographically and under international law, in its Diplomatic Bluebook.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Daisuke Miba, the general secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to protest.