Small business group urges members to stop selling cigarettes, beer

An association of ROK shop-owners on Monday urged millions of its members to boycott Japanese goods to protest Japan's continued claim to a tiny set of islets at the heart of a decades-old dispute.

The Small Local Sales Alliance called on its members, including neighborhood mini-marts, restaurants, pubs and other stores, to stop selling Japanese goods including cigarettes, liquor and beer, its spokesman said.

"We launched the action in protest at Japan's ridiculous claim over our Dokdo islands," the spokesman said, referring to the ROK-controlled islets in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) that are known as Takeshima in Japan.

The alliance claims a membership numbering in the millions.

Japan held an annual rally last week to promote its claim to the island chain. Hundreds of people attended, including the highest-ranking Japanese government official ever dispatched to the event.

Republic of Korea, which had urged Japan to cancel Friday's rally, reacted angrily and hundreds of activists staged a protest outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul.

"Our group is comprised of countless smaller and close-knit neighborhood chapters, so the impact can be significant if many agree to take part," the alliance spokesman said.

Mom-and-pop stores account for a large volume of Japanese consumer product sales, particularly cigarette brands like Mild Seven and Asahi beer.

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have regularly been strained by the territorial dispute and other contentious issues arising from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

The territorial row deepened last year following a surprise visit by then ROK president Lee Myung-bak who claimed territory over the island chain.