Takeshima Japanese, schools to be told

Kyodo News

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The education ministry plans to clearly state in a supplement of the government's new educational guideline for junior high school students that a Seoul-controlled islet in the Sea of Japan is an "integral part of Japan," officials said Monday.

The supplement referring to the island called Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean will be compiled around June or July for use from fiscal 2012, the officials at the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry said.
The supplement, although nonbinding, serves as a guide for teachers and textbook publishers.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Monday the government has yet to decide how to describe territorial issues in the supplement, while reiterating the position that Takeshima is Japan's original territory.

"As the Japanese and South Korean leaders agreed to build future-oriented relations, we don't mean to play up this issue politically," the top government spokesman said, referring to the April summit of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in Tokyo.

The move, however, drew immediate reactions from South Korea.

In Seoul, Lee urged Japan to refrain from claiming the disputed island as part of its territory.

He ordered Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung Hwan to ask Japan to change the plan if in fact Japan's move is found to be true, said Lee's spokesman, Lee Dong Kwan.

Following Lee's instructions, Yu called in Japanese Ambassador Toshinori Shigeie to seek an explanation about the issue.

According to the ministry spokesman, Yu termed Japan's move as "an unreasonable attempt to undermine our territorial sovereignty over Dokdo, which is an integral part of our territory."

The Japan Times: Tuesday, May 20, 2008

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