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Of 55 Japanese school textbooks given the Japanese Education Ministry's seal of approval for use in teaching from the 2007 academic year, 20 refer to Korea¡¯s Dokdo islets as Japanese territory.
What¡¯s more, the Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday quoted a publishing insider as saying that while a variety of descriptions are permitted on most other matters, the government is adamant that there must be uniformity on questions of territory and policy issues. ¡°The Ministry of Education seems positively hysterical in its adherence to territory issues,¡± the daily added. The Asahi Shimbun agreed the authorities were ¡°determined not to acknowledge any description that differs from the government's.¡±
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Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon meets Japanese Ambassador to Korea Shotaro Oshima after summoning him to protest at a Japanese directive that school textbooks should expressly lay claim to Korea¡¯s Dokdo islets, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Thursday.
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Tokyo¡¯s stickling on the point appears based in a calculated plan to implant the idea that Dokdo is Japanese territory firmly in Japanese citizens¡¯ minds and to get Dokdo seen as disputed territory. That indicates that Japan is pursuing a schizophrenic strategy toward Korea where it acts tough in terms of politics and diplomacy while attempting to expand the volume of economic and nongovernmental exchange. That inherent contradiction is illustrated by the picture of Japan¡¯s favorite Korean star Bae Yong-joon that appears in the textbooks as a symbol of the Korean Wave there.
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon on Thursday summoned Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Shotaro Oshima to protest against the textbooks. In a strongly worded statement, Ban told the envoy, ¡°Amid already souring Korea-Japan relations, Japan has once again taken an action that infringes on Korea¡¯s sovereignty.¡± The chief diplomat called on Tokyo to ensure this does not happen again. ¡°An incorrect description of Dokdo means incorrect education of young people, and that can never be acceptable,¡± he said. Oshima replied since the two sides ¡°hold divergent views,¡± it was necessary to ¡°respond calmly and take the wider view¡± in Korean-Japan relations.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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