Three Faults of Japans Claim to Dokdo

Professor Hosaka Yuji at Sejong University in Seoul holds up proof that the ancient Japanese did not consider Dokdo as their land.

/ Korea Times

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

An ethnic Japanese Korean expert on Dokdo has said that the Japanese government has officially denied its sovereignty over Dokdo three times in the past.

``The top Japanese authorities made the denials back in 1695, 1870 and 1877, while the Korean government has never denied its sovereignty over Dokdo, which proves the islets in the East Sea are part of Korean territory in history,'' Professor Hosaka Yuji at Sejong University's College of Liberal Arts said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

Born in 1956 in Japan, Hosaka graduated from the University of Tokyo and earned his master's and doctorate degree in politics from Korea University in Seoul. He acquired Korean citizenship in 2003.

``I majored in international politics, especially about how the Japanese government had conquered the Korean Peninsula and part of China during the Pacific War (1937-1941). Then, I learned Tokyo's claims to Dokdo were inconsistent and the Japanese authorities had premeditatedly covered up many historical records to beef up its claim to Dokdo,'' Hosaka said.

The first sovereignty dispute over Dokdo took place in 1695. Then Korea and Japan were vying for ownership of the then uninhabited islets. As the dispute continued, the Japanese government ordered the governor of Tottori Prefecture, the closest Japanese province to the islets at that time, to verify whether the rocky outcroppings lying about halfway between Korea and Japan belonged to Japan or not.

The central government was told days after that Dokdo was not part of its territory. Three days after the notification, the Tokyo government completely banned its citizens from visiting the islets.

``In 1870, Japan's supreme decision-making body carried out similar research once again to clarify possession of the islets but was notified of the same result. The government proclaimed in 1877 it would exclude Dokdo from its territory,'' he said.

A string of territorial tug-of-wars between the two sides continued until 1965. But Japanese authorities stopped provoking Korean people until 1994 when the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) took effect internationally. The EEZ extends a state's territorial waters to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) out from its coast from the previous 12 nautical miles. Each state has exclusive rights to develop and use maritime resources within its EEZ.

``As the EEZ went into effect, the Japanese government began forming long-term tactics to steal Dokdo. It has modified related regulations and education programs in favor of its goal with strong support from then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,'' he said.

Silent but Stern Countermeasures Needed

The academic underlined that government-led systematic and long-term strategies are needed to foil Japan's plot, adding it was meaningless holding massive protests in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, tearing up Japanese flags, and setting them on fire while chanting anti-Japanese slogans.

``Korean people seem to console themselves with such collective action whenever Japan raises claim to Dokdo. But it's meaningless, as the matter is a diplomatic issue. The Korean government needs international support to have the upper hand in the battle,'' Hosaka said. ``Tokyo has kept a low-key stance on the issue internationally and domestically. But it has worked. The name of Dokdo on international Web sites was changed one by one to Takeshima or Liancourt Rocks.''

He called on Korea to enhance its Dokdo promotion campaigns in cyberspace, citing its growing influence on diplomatic issues.

``I have seen few articles logically and obviously refuting Japan's claim to Dokdo on government Web sites. Such contents are translated into merely one or two foreign languages. Furthermore, they have many errors,'' he said. ``The Korean government should enhance its online promotion campaign by diversifying its promotional languages and upgrading the contents.''

pss@koreatimes.co.kr

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