Yesterday, Japan’s education ministry released its new manual on government textbook guidelines for high school-level geography and history. These guidelines contain claims about Japan's territorial rights to the island of Dokdo. Last year, when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was in power, a government manual on middle-school level textbooks was issued that had also cited territorial claims to Dokdo, and now the new Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration has done likewise. The fact that this comes from an administration that espoused “true reconciliation with the countries of Asia” when it took office in September makes it all the more disappointing.

Some analysts are saying that the new manual does show consideration for South Korea-Japan relations since it does not use the word “Takeshima” and that it uses the term “based on middle school instruction,” but this is mere wordplay. Indeed, Japan's education ministry itself is referring to it as “merely a more concise way of putting things” and claims “since Takeshima is a part of Japan’s proper territory, there is no change in the legitimacy of our efforts to make the public aware of it.” If the Japanese government really were being considerate of South Korea-Japan relations, it would have simply maintained its existing manual where there is no reference to Dokdo.

There can be no territorial dispute over Dokdo, as it is a part of Korean territory both legally and effectively. Japan’s territorial claims are simply the product of misguided imperialist thinking. That the Japanese government is well aware of this and yet went ahead in altering the content of the manual means that its talk about “a mature relationship among companions” is just that, talk, and that nothing much has changed from the previous administration in terms of substance. One has to wonder how we can trust this government and proceed with discussions of a future-oriented relationship.

The DPJ administration has shown a forward-thinking approach on a number of issues, including the Yasukuni Shrine, military sexual slavery during World War II, historical issues and suffrage for Koreans in Japan. Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio himself has commented that he “needs the courage to face history properly in an active and forward-thinking way” and has called for the creation of fraternal solidarity between Japan and other Asia-Pacific nations. Nonetheless, he does not yet have anything to show by way of action to demonstrate this change. Instead, Hatoyama’s actions have stirred up public criticism in South Korea as just a few days ago his government offered a belated welfare pension payment of 99 yen apiece (1,300 Won) to elderly women who had been conscripted into labor during the Japanese occupation.

The Korean government must respond with resolve to this situation. If it decides to merely issue a statement and tries to read the Japanese government, it might give the false impression that Japan’s territorial claims on Dokdo are gaining force. It needs to secure Japan’s clear acknowledgment that as long as it clings to its territorial rights over Dokdo, although there may be some progress in Hatoyama’s conception of an East Asian community, Japan itself will have no place in it.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]