On Friday Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he "wants to meet President Roh Moo Hyun as soon as possible," and it looks like the government is taking the statement positively. It has failed to grasp the situation, however. Now is not the time to appear to be relaxing the stance.
On the same day, the public affairs officer at Japan's embassy in the United States published a letter to the editor of the Washington Post in which he claimed that Dokdo is Japanese territory. In the space of a month since Japan's ambassador to Korea said the same thing publicly, we have again been hit with disappointment. When two countries have an issue between them you are supposed to keep from making matters worse. Japan continues the provocations, ignoring that basic principle. Its attitude does not in the slightest way take into account Korea's strong protest, which have even come from Korea's president.
Japan has continued its double-faced behavior, appearing to engage in self-reflection and apology on the one hand while persistently making the situation worse. It must not be forgotten that the current situation began with Japan's provocations in the form of the recent declaration of a "Takeshima Day" by Shimane's prefectural legislature, the thoughtless remarks by Japan's ambassador to Seoul, and the textbooks that have even more serious distortions of history than before. Since then Japan has done nothing to improve the situation and it has made no promises. The joint committee for the joint study of history formed after the last textbook controversy had its time period run out three years later without finding common ground on the main points of contention. Talking about a summit in the current climate is meaningless.
What is needed right now is not a meeting of foreign ministers or a summit between President Roh Moo Hyun and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The prime minister and the Japanese government need to be pressured as much as possible to take tangible and appropriate action. The Korean government should resist having high-level contacts before there are signs of progress in resolving the situation. We have been burned more than once after carelessly believing Japan had good intentions. It has only been two weeks since the government announced a new policy doctrine towards Japan, one that changed significantly changed the tone of that policy.
The Hankyoreh, 28 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Japan's Intentions Cannot Be Trusted |
