Earlier in the week the local Northeast Asian History Foundation held a seminar to discuss Japan's scholastic movement to educate its public with distorted information. Experts said the Dokdo islets were rarely marked on Japanese maps until the 1990s, but then gradually began appearing on maps leading to a classification as Japanese territory beginning in the new millennium.

But not all Japanese experts agree with their government. On Wednesday five local groups, including heads of Japanese civic groups like Peace Boat, and other Japanese experts held a Korea-Japan peace symposium to discuss the direction the two nations should take.

Japanese civic group founder Takada Ken said the public was for changing the peace laws in the 1990s but in the 2000s that trend changed. The Head of Peace Boat, Kawasaki Akira, said denuclearization, cooperation in non-military areas and downsizing military spending are needed for peace in Northeast Asia.

China's international relations experts say Japan is aiming to rebuild its "oceanic power" to regain its key strengths as the nation originally relied on its maritime powers through World War II. Chinese experts say Japan's Democratic Party with the help of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda have passed economic and finance policies to do just that.

Japan is currently engaged in a dispute over Korea's Dokdo islets, four islands at the end of Russia's Kuril island chain and China's Diaoyutai islands. Local experts agree that Japan has focused on strengthening its military power altogether and creating controversy over Dokdo is just part of the plan.

Arirang News