By Kang Seung-woo
Japanese politicians’ string of provocative attempts to deny the country’s wartime history are outraging South Koreans.
Some observers claim that the government here should come up with strong measures to snap the vicious cycle of provocation by Japan’s leadership, aimed at glossing over the country’s history of invasion and aggression during World War II.
The latest version of history denial came Tuesday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a right-wing nationalist, reportedly querying the exact definition of “invasion” during a parliamentary meeting, saying it could vary depending on which side was looking at the situation. Korea was colonized by Japan between 1910 and 1945.
“It is routine for Japan to attempt to rewrite its wartime history, but it is of serious concern that a prime minister made such remarks at the Diet,” said Kim Youn-soo, 30, a Ph.D candidate in communications.
“He had better look up the word in the dictionary and be aware of the definition.”
Abe’s remarks came on the same day that 168 Japanese lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine that houses Japan’s 2.5 million wartime dead including 14 Class A war criminals, following a weekend visit by Finance Minister Taro Aso, which riled neighbors South Korea and China. As a result, Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se canceled a visit to Tokyo for talks with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
The shrine is seen by Japan’s neighbors as a symbol of its wartime aggression.
Abe, who also served as prime minister in 2006 and 2007, previously made no secret of his intention to deny the country’s history of aggression, saying there was no evidence that sex slaves for Japan’s wartime military were coerced.
Tuesday’s remarks also suggested that he would not acknowledge the apology by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1995 for wartime atrocities against people of Asian nations.
“It is a shock that the prime minister has such a distorted view of history,” said Sung Ji-min, 25, a graduate school student. “This concept may see Japan designated as a dangerous country detrimental to world peace.”
She added that a lack of pressure from neighboring countries has resulted in the current situation, citing Germany, which persecuted Jewish people during the Second World War, as a reverse example.
“Germany is always regretful of what it did because I think neighboring European powers are keeping Germany in check, but South Korea and China have yet to properly handle Japan’s repetition of history denial.”
Ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Shim Jae-chul also urged Seoul to cooperate with other Asian countries to jointly deal with the matter.
There are voices calling for more extreme actions as a warning.
“We can stage a boycott of Japanese products,” said Yoo Sang-hoon, 25, a graduate school student.
Last month, Korean shop owners launched a nationwide boycott over Japan’s persistent claims to Korea’s Dokdo islets.