It’s just a bunch of rocks.

But the islets that comprise Dokdo — less than one square-mile of two large rocks, reef and about three dozen smaller rocks — has inspired two South Koreans to cut off their fingers and another to set himself on fire, leading to his death.

Dokdo is the source of growing tension between South Korea and Japan, as both have claimed ownership of the islands. The Japanese call them Takeshima.

The sea surrounding the island is a rich resource for fishing and liquid natural gas. Japan’s claim on the islands could take away some of Korea’s exclusive water zones — which the Korea National Corp. was planning to till for liquid natural gas. (Korea is the world’s second largest buyer of the stuff.)

The Shimane Prefecture declared Feb. 22 Takeshima Day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the day when Japan first laid claim to the islands in 1905.

This had South Koreans up in arms, as Dokdo is also a symbol of independence from Japan’s colonial rule. Documents prove, Korean government officials say, that before 1905 the islands belonged to Korea. The islands came back under Korean control when colonial rule ended 1945, they claim.

South Korea and Japan are in a territorial dispute as to which country can claim the Dokdo islands, or the Takeshima Islands, as the Japanese call them.

Most Japanese are unaware of the recent brouhaha, and Tokyo has adopted a low-key stance on the issue. The loudest proponents of Japan’s public statement of "ownership" are political right-wingers and Shimane residents who demand fishing rights to the islands.

South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun warned the dispute could lead to a "diplomatic war."

With the recent international uproar over Japanese history texts, Japan would be remiss to not heed Korea’s protests, experts say. Japan in 2001 ignored Korean requests to revise the middle school books, which whitewashes its wartime atrocities.

The Japanese Education Ministry’s most recent version of history is more egregiously distorted, its neighbors say, and has refueled anti-Japanese sentiment throughout Asia.

Ironic, given that 2005 is "Korea-Japan Friendship Year."

Koreans too readily wield nationalistic, anti-Japanese feelings to bolster their claims, some say.

"The Korean government has traditionally used nationalism to control its people," said Shigeki Hakamada, a professor of international politics at Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University, to the Associated Press. "The Takeshima dispute fits right into this pattern."

But Jon Van Dyke, a law professor at the University of Hawaii and a specialist in Asian maritime issues, said Tokyo could defuse much of the tension.

"Japan has been reluctant to acknowledge its responsibility for the suffering it caused during and before World War II," he said in an interview with AP. "Its abandonment of its claims to Dokdo … would be a very positive step in promoting reconciliation in East Asia."