코리아타임즈 Two-Faced Japan

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Two-Faced Japan       Seoul Should Prepare for Protracted Diplomatic War

The fruitless Korea-Japan foreign ministers’ talks in Islamabad Thursday appeared rather like a reconnoitering skirmish before a full-blown war. Seoul’s position was as angry and resolute as ever, but Tokyo’s response could hardly be colder. Though expected, it is still disappointing. Japan speaks about the need to improve the situation but acts to aggravate it. Its education minister eval‎uated the ultra-rightist history textbook as “balanced,” with all _ not some - schoolbooks moving to describe Korea’s Tokto (Dokdo) islets as their territory. Looking back on the past couple of months, however, it seems as though Tokyo planned all these. The 2006 textbooks for Japan’s secondary schools, despite partial improvements, show two distinctive features: degradation of Korea to almost a Chinese colony for millennia and glorification of the Japanese war heroes and history. With rearmament almost completed, the Japanese leaders appear ready to return to the past. The distorted textbooks are tools to induce the general public, particularly children, to join it. From some time ago, it was apparent Japan no longer felt guilty about its military invasions of and crimes against its Asian neighbors. The latest developments demonstrate Tokyo has now shaken off even its sense of shame. Japan’s post-war leaders must be thinking half a century of reflection is enough for clearing the misdeeds committed in the preceding 50 years. If that is the case, they should not talk about a peaceful future. Other Asians are tired of the inconsistency between Japan’s words and deeds. Japan had best untie the knots it made. Tokyo must drop its territorial claims over the rocky islets in the East Sea and rewrite the textbooks reflecting the sentiments of neighboring countries. Many on both sides of the Straits of Korea are pinning their hopes on the “shuttle summit” between the two countries scheduled for June. But it becomes increasingly uncertain the top leaders’ meeting, even if materialized, would produce any meaningful results as long as Tokyo sticks to its stance. In that case, Seoul should get ready for a protracted diplomatic war with Japan, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Though Seoul should never allow the Tokto issue to become an agenda item for negotiation, it needs to be armed with legal and historic reasoning to prove its sovereignty on the international level. In dealing with the textbook issue, it should unite with other Asian governments as well as citizens, including conscientious Japanese. At home, Seoul needs to enhance education of history among young students. Koreans should stop burning flags and effigies and return to a cool-headed approach. The Japanese right-wing extremists may be giving a present to the Korean people, uniting not only South and North Koreans but also the liberals and conservatives. It is the Japanese leaders that should regain their calm, and stop using diplomacy as a camouflage for domestic problems.

[zem^^]

thanks Atom^^