By Jane Han
NEW YORK ― When it comes to Dokdo, the Korean society in the U.S. is vocal, emotional and all teeth and claws. There’s no backing down and they’re not shy about it. Oddly, their direct counterparts in the U.S. are just the opposite.
Japanese-Americans don’t run any ads, nor do they pass out flyers. Most groups don’t even take an official position. They’re highly subtle but that doesn’t mean they’re not strategic.
Immediately after a Korean-American created in March the first online petition to ask the White House for its support for the Dokdo campaign, a Japanese resident in the U.S. fought back with a counter petition.
In the following months, Japanese-Americans filed numerous other petitions demanding the White House to stop ``Korean propaganda and lies’’ about Japan.
But unlike Korean groups in the U.S., Japanese associations never promoted these efforts.
In fact, they refused to talk about it.
``We do not stand for a position regarding Takeshima and we cannot comment on the issue,’’ said an official of the Japanese American Association of New York, who asked not to be named.
Other Japanese groups across the country took the same position, almost as if it was part of a coordinated plan.
This is in direct contrast to Korean associations that take every opportunity to speak out on the Dokdo controversy.
Last week, the Federation of Korean Associations, the umbrella group for all regional Korean-American groups, issued a statement calling on the U.S. to take responsibility over the territorial dispute.
In Los Angeles, a full-fledged Dokdo PR campaign is being planned for October, while weekend seminars teaching the truth about Dokdo is underway in New York.
Korean-Americans aren’t expected to slow down in any way.
``Korean people are using a lot of energy trying to spread the word. That is not what we are interested in,’’ said a New York-based Japanese journalist, who declined to be named, like many other Japanese who were interviewed.
He said it is ultimately going to be the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that will make the call so there is no reason for Japanese residents in the U.S. to waste money and time to raise awareness.
The Japanese government is reportedly preparing to take the Dokdo issue to the ICJ on its own, as Korea rejected Japan’s proposal to take the case to court for a ruling on sovereignty.
``We know that whatever we do here is not going to affect the outcome, so it is better to stay quiet than to go up against Koreans. It will look foolish,’’ said a member of the Japanese American Association of California, who asked for anonymity citing the organization’s policy not to comment on the issue.
Although Japanese-Americans aren’t doing or saying anything publicly, multiple sources in the Japanese community say numerous initiatives are making steady progress to try and influence people’s perception of history.
``Leaders of the Japanese-American society are meeting in small groups, hosting history workshops and planning to reach out to people in academia,’’ said one Japanese lawyer, who is actively taking part in these efforts.
``We are well aware of the Korean strategy but our way is different,’’ he said, adding that any initiative will be geared only toward those who can exert influence, instead of the general public.
Korean-American leaders don’t agree. They say educating ordinary Americans will pay off in the end.
``If the general public is convinced that Dokdo belongs to Korea, the White House won’t be able to ignore what their people think,’’ says Robert Kim, who is in the forefront of promoting Dokdo in the U.S. ``Each country has its own way of doing things. We’ll see which way is better.’’