Envoy Rebukes Japan’s Dokdo Claim
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun Tuesday strongly rebuked Japan's decision to refer to Dokdo as Japanese territory in the newly published manuals for middle school teachers in Japan.
In his meeting with Japanese Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Mitoji Yabunaka before returning to Seoul, Kwon said, ``What the Japanese government has done goes against the Korean government's effort to move forward to the future in Korea-Japan relations and break away from the past. It is very regrettable.''
The ambassador warned that ``Japan will lose something very important'' in bilateral relations, if Tokyo goes ahead with its plan, according to Kyodo News.
The government temporarily recalled Ambassador Kwon. He returned to Seoul Tuesday night, after filing a complaint with the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The dispute involves a group of islets in the East Sea, called Dokdo. On Monday, the Japanese government revealed a plan to include in new teaching manuals for Japanese middle schools a territorial claim on those islets that are now under South Korean control.
Deputy Minister Yabunaka replied that it would be undesirable for Korea-Japan relations to deteriorate because of this issue, Kyodo said. He told Ambassador Kwon that the two sides should remain calm and continue ahead to a new era of Korea-Japan cooperation.
Following the meeting, Ambassador Kwon told reporters that it was rather absurd that the Japanese government made this decision even after Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda expressed his willingness to forge a closer relationship with Korea.
Recalling an ambassador, even on a temporary basis, is considered one of the highest forms of diplomatic protests.
Territorial disputes over the islets are not new and they have been a major source of diplomatic tension between South Korea and Japan for years.
In another development, a story published Monday by a leading Japanese newspaper is causing uproar among President Lee's political opponents.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on an alleged private conversation that took place between Lee and Fukuda at the G8 summit of industrialized nations in Japan on July 9. The account by Yomiuri paints an unflattering picture of the Korean President, alleging that Lee told Fukuda he was simply opposed to the ``timing'' of Japan's decision.
A Cheong Wa Dae spokesman angrily denounced the report, calling the story completely inaccurate. The spokesman, Lee Dong-kwan, charged that the report may be part of a manipulative effort by Japanese media to cause rifts among Korean political leaders and alter the nature of the debate surrounding the disputed islands.
The spokesman said that at the Lee-Fukuda summit on July 9, Fukuda may have raised the idea of describing Dokdo islands as Japanese territory in school manuals, ``but it was certainly not a unilateral notification from the Japanese side.''
The spokesman said that what the President actually told Fukuda was that Japan must not claim false sovereignty over Dokdo, especially as the two nations are striving to begin a new ``future-oriented'' era of cooperation.
Yomiuri claimed that Fukuda informed Lee of Tokyo's decision to refer to Dokdo as Japanese territory in the newly published manuals for middle school teachers in Japan. ``Our government can no longer avoid putting in the reference in the educational manuals,'' Fukuda told Lee, according to the paper.
In response, according to the report, Lee did not protest the decision itself but instead told Fukuda that ``the timing was not right'' and asked him to ``wait'' before making the change.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, commenting on his government's decision, told reporters this week that ``many people here are of the opinion that we should fully teach the facts about Takeshima and deepen understanding of Japan's land and territory.'' The Dokdo islets are called Takeshima in Japan.
In a related development, a controversial report by a leading Japanese newspaper that caused an uproar in Korea was officially dismissed as inaccurate by Japanese officials.
On Monday, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on a private conversation that allegedly took place between Lee and Fukuda at the G8 summit of industrialized nations in Japan on July 9. The account painted an unflattering picture of the Korean President.
The paper claimed that Fukuda informed Lee of Tokyo's decision to refer to Dokdo as Japanese territory in the new manuals for middle school teachers in Japan. In response, the report alleged, Lee did not protest the decision itself but instead told Fukuda that ``the timing was not right'' and asked him to ``wait'' before announcing the change.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Kazuo Kodama told reporters Tuesday afternoon that while the ministry doesn't want to specifically talk about the contents of the discussion between Lee and Fukuda, the spokesman said the conversation as described by Yomiuri did not occur.
Earlier Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan had also angrily denounced the report, calling the story completely inaccurate. Lee charged that the report may be part of a manipulative effort by Japanese media to cause rifts among Korean political leaders.
Dokdo, made mostly of volcanic rock, comprises of two main islands and more than 30 smaller islets. They are some 217 kilometers from mainland Korea and 250 kilometers away from mainland Japan. These islands, covering more than 180,000 square meters, currently have a small Korean police station, administrative personnel and lighthouse staff as well as a few residents.