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South Korean Ambassador to Geneva Choi Hyuk has taken up historical distortions in Japanese textbooks at the 61st meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). ¡°This year is the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II,¡± Choi said Thursday. ¡°If we don¡¯t learn the lessons from the mistakes of history, we are doomed to repeat them.¡±
Choi said a whitewash of Japanese wartime atrocities in a middle school textbook passed by Japan¡¯s Education Ministry on Wednesday was ¡°a factor of serious concern for Korea.¡±
Japan countered the textbook ¡°was passed in accordance with our government¡¯s principle of not regulating against specific historical points of view or opinions in the country¡¯s diverse textbooks.¡± It added, ¡°The screening system has corrected errors like clear mistakes or imbalances¡± in descriptions.
But Choi urged Japan to make fundamental corrections, saying the Japanese government ¡°predetermined the guidelines and decided on whether or not to approve the textbooks after reviewing their content.¡± Its claims were therefore ¡°unpersuasive,¡± he said.
Hidenobu Sobashima, the Japanese delegation head, said, ¡°We¡¯ve apologized and expressed regret countless times concerning the issue of ¡®comfort women¡¯¡± drafter into sexual slavery for the Japanese Army during World War II, ¡°and there has been no change in the Japanese government¡¯s position on the matter.¡± But as far as compensation is concerned he said Japan ¡°lived up to all its obligations under international treaties and conventions,¡± and ¡°Tokyo has legally resolved the issue with relevant authorities¡± in other countries. ¡°We understand our moral responsibility, so we are cooperating greatly with the activity of the Asian Women¡¯s Fund,¡± he added.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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