On Wednesday the legislature in Japan’s Shimane Prefecture is expected to pass an ordinance declaring the yearly observance of a “Takeshima Day,” Takeshima being Japan’s name for Dokdo, and all of Korea is burning with rage. Anti-Japanese protests are spreading throughout the country and a boycott of Japanese products has begun. There are increasing concerns that Japan’s futile rashness is going to hurt relations. We would like to state that all responsibility for what happens lies with Japan.
We state again that Shimane Prefecture’s establishment of a “Takeshima Day” and going on a campaign to assert territorial authority over Dokdo is a revelation of desires for aggression and an infringement on our territorial integrity. We cannot shake off the rage we feel at the deception, since our confidence has been betrayed by Japan’s failure to aggressive nature agreeing to the neighborly “Korea-Japan Friendship Year” on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
What is transpiring has to be seen as taking place with the backing of the Japanese government. It can be seen in how immediately after the “Takeshima Day” ordinance was introduced to a Shimane legislative committee the Japanese ambassador to Korea asserted that “Takeshima is Japanese territory,” or at how the Japanese government has not moving to do anything about the situation. The claim that Dokdo belongs to Japan that is included in a far-right wing Japanese group’s history textbooks can be understood in the same context. The Japanese national government is shameless for using the defense that it is not its business and for writing off Shimane’s actions as the jurisdiction of a regional legislature, and that behavior is an outrage that is violence against its neighbor. The current situation began with Japanese provocations. It is therefore the Japanese government that needs to be the one to take an active stance in resolving the conflict. We again call for the ordinance proposal to be scrapped.
The government has made it clear that Dokdo is not something negotiable. We think that it is time to further solidify Korea’s practical control over the island and to take various measures in response so as to further prove territorial authority. Any unnecessary escalation in political or military tension, however, must be avoided. Korea also needs to be wise in recognizing Japan’s sly goal of having Dokdo made a “disputed territory.”
The Hankyoreh, 16 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Japanese Gov’t Fix the Problem |
