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Renowned Japanese economic and social critic Kenichi Omae has urged the Japanese government to admit Korea's "effective control" of the Dokdo islets as fact.
In the latest issue of the Japanese weekly SAPIO, Omae said, "It's meaningless even if Shimane Prefecture has proclaimed Takeshima Dayˇ± -- after the Japanese name for Dokdo -- and even if the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has mentioned Takeshima in teaching guidelines" for secondary school teachers. He added it was ˇ°sillyˇ± to describe Dokdo as Japanese territory in textbooks.
SAPIO, published by Shogakukan publishers, speaks for the hard Japanese Right on history and most international issues. It is unprecedented for a neutral Japanese intellectual like Omae to call for recognition of Korea's effective control of Dokdo in the magazine.
Omae said no nation which failed to occupy territory effectively has obtained it through dialogue between parties concerned or UN arbitration. Everybody knows that a war, the only means possible, is not suitable" as a way to solve the Dokdo issue.
He said under the circumstances it was ˇ°unbearableˇ± to see the Japanese government "growl from afar" by mentioning Dokdo in textbooks. He urged Tokyo to refrain from causing unnecessary friction and instead negotiate to jointly develop fisheries and underwater resources."
However, he stressed Japan should "continue claim" over the islets, while recognizing Korea's effective occupation, but without criticizing or irritating Korea. He added in the future it was necessary ˇ°to expand the East Asian economic sphere by skillfully pulling China and Korea into it. Japan should build a hypothetical great power in the future, when the meaning of national territories will become blurred."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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