S Korea condemns updated Japanese textbooks

When South Korea agrees to settle the issue at the ICJ as Japan has suggested 3 times, then they can complain. Right now they have nothing to be complaining about.

OssanAmerica: "When South Korea agrees to settle the issue at the ICJ as Japan has suggested 3 times, then they can complain."

You mean like Japan has agreed to settle the Senkakus there? Give this tired old line a rest. Even in these textbook white-washes Japan says "It does not recognise any island issue" in regards to the Senkakus, and Korea does not recognise any issues in regards to Dokdo. So why should they go to the ICJ, which is not legally binding, and which Japan would NEVER admit if they sided with South Korea? Japan complains as well whenever China does something involving the area around the islands, no?

What's more, SK is also complaining about the revision to the number of people killed by the IJA preceding and during WWII, which is another total white-wash, even though the previous books were bad enough. The nationalists who white-wash these books are cowards, and I have no doubt you have no trouble in agreeing that SK textbooks that do the same are the same, right? So, why is only Japan right, in your mind?

Senkaku islands is alaready recognized by United Nations as part of Japanese territory dear smithinjapan. Besides that, the China Daily in the 1960 published maps where the islands is written as Senkaku. It is way different than Takeshima islands that is not recognized by UN for being Korean or Japanese.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, they stopped short of explicitly acknowledging the women’s forced recruitment to frontline brothels.

That's the whole Can of Worms. Think the japanese are going to acknowledge this?? (Sheesh...) No wonder why the comfort women statues make such a strong statement among world opinion.

Reading this (again), it is obvious that the Koreans are not interested in any spat between the two countries being solved. Talking all nobly about "correct teaching of history is a duty" may woo the local populace, but as an outsider, it is plain to see that this is propaganda, intended to make the Korean government appear steadfast and strong.

A "correct teaching" should include the information that these islands are claimed by more than one country. These three nations, (China, Japan, and Korea) seem incapable of promoting openness and fairness. Is this a Confusian thing?

Well, Let's see Korean education about Japan. This is how innocent Korean kids are brainwashed.

http://youtu.be/bBEXPjDLmRk

Oh come on guys! It's a cultural thing for Japanese to not take blame for wrongdoing. And if the evidence piles up against them, culturally, the Japanese will then go silent on the subject. This is normal behavior in this part of the world.

These foreign people who think they can just insist on Japan telling history how it is... what gives you the right to change an ancient tradition...? You don't understand Japanese culture! Stop bullying poor Japan!

Yawn

“The Japanese government must understand that a correct teaching of history is a duty, not only to its future generations, but also to neighboring countries that have suffered from Japan’s past aggression,”

“The essence of this issue is whether Japan can treat its history of aggression correctly and show it to the public as it is.

So, this particular dispute is about a claim over ownership of a small group of islands. However, the Koreans, Chinese and the media in general only want to talk about what happened in WW2; typically pathetic and childlike.

I think NK sending missiles in the Sea of JAPAN is more of an issue, or would the South Koreans call it the Sea of Korea?

Simple solution.

If the islands are populated then let the settlers decide for themselves.

If not, then rock paper scissors.

I'm sorry but I think Korea and China made very funny point? what does WW2 Japan have anything to do with current Japan? the almost 2 different Japan from political and social standpoint, plus, we are living in 2016 guys. If you want to talk about territory or islands, just talk about them don't beat around the bush with unrelated events, quite pathetic imo.

I'm sorry but I think Korea and China made very funny point? what does WW2 Japan have anything to do with current Japan?

Imperial Japan invaded those countries and took their territories. Today's Japan hasn't returned some of those territories back. That's the relation here.

What is new about this?

What is new about this?

'update' of Japanese textbooks.

Fuben: "Reading this (again), it is obvious that the Koreans are not interested in any spat between the two countries being solved. Talking all nobly about "correct teaching of history is a duty" may woo the local populace, but as an outsider, it is plain to see that this is propaganda, intended to make the Korean government appear steadfast and strong"

In your rant against South Korea, which it obviously is (since you point out the 'obvious'), you forget one clear and simple thing: it's a REACTION by South Korea to an ACTION by Japan -- the former are not the one's pulling the 'steadfast and strong' look while not being interested in solving any spats regardling history. In other words, you are a complete hypocrite if you cannot see that it is a two-way street.

It's a pity Japan can't act in a responsible manner on this

Japan will now never be blamed for not sincerely apologizing to South Korea about the Comfort Women issue ever again!

In fact poor Seoul was duped into accepting a cash-laden 'final agreement' about the matter which Japans UN ambassador promptly erased by loudly declaring that no such proof exists that the Imperial Japanese army forced Korean women to work as sex slaves!

This just gives the impression that President Park's government was really only after the money.

Excellent gambit by Herr Abe!

BANZAI!

they stopped short of explicitly acknowledging the women’s forced recruitment to frontline brothels.

because Japan never acknowledged it. If anybody forced the women's recruitment, it would be Korean brokers. There is evidence of Korean advertisements by Korean brokers.

Falsification of facts and mis-education of its citizenry is the espoused strategy the Japanese leadership is employing to coral the citizenry into, if need be, any future criminality against others. For with this kind of " education" every Japanese is absolved from feelings of guilt . Guilt has a tendency to inspire some introspection and eventually a " Never Again" attitude.

If anybody forced the women's recruitment, it would be Korean brokers. There is evidence of Korean advertisements by Korean brokers.

And its still wrong. Some of the women weren't even women, but young girls. Anyways, this "thinking" of yours is wrong.

This is like saying the Black Africans sold "Black men and women" to colonial slave drivers . . . . so slavery is okay. Slavery is NOT okay. Sexual slavery too.

So can Japan complain about Korean school textbooks that no doubt say the islands are Korean territory?

What about the Han Nichi Kyouiku in Korea?

If Japan got support from South Korea in regards to other territorial disputes Japan has, maybe Tokyo would be willing to drop this textbook issue

hachikou

Well, Let's see Korean education about Japan. This is how innocent Korean kids are brainwashed.

http://youtu.be/bBEXPjDLmRk

This is unbelievable.... Thank you for sharing and for showing us what crazy South Korea actually does to people.

You might say whatever you want but at the end of the day Japanese people are nice, peaceful people and Japan is a peaceful country. In contrast to that, China and South Korea brainwash their citizens and teach them to hate Japan. For a nation state this is a way worse villainy than than allowing some textbooks containing a partial, often debatable minimization of some historical events.

In which way were those textbooks updated? Anybody got any connections to show us what's going on?

I think the school textbooks are updated every year in Japan.

What Farmboy says above gets my vote.

meh

...just follow China's lead and build a new island nearby and that'll solve everything... and by solving everything, I mean it'll solve nothing at all but only create future endless troubles that no one will be able to address for fear of losing face... sigh...

South Korea should just follow Japan's strategy by also nationalising Dokdo islands.

In fact poor Seoul was duped into accepting a cash-laden 'final agreement' about the matter which Japans UN ambassador promptly erased by loudly declaring that no such proof exists that the Imperial Japanese army forced Korean women to work as sex slaves!

You can blame your government for concluding this issue with the 1965 treaty signed between Japan and Korea. It was your government which spent it on infrastructure rather than distributing it to your people. The second agreement is nothing more than a bonus.

The fact is, Dokdo, Kuril, and Diayou don't belong to Japan.

Preceding an opinion with 'the fact is' doesn't magically turn that opinion into a fact.

HOWEVER, many Koreans are in the US pretending to be Japanese and running "Japanese" restaurants. Disappointing and false advertising. They will admit it when you ask them outright, but otherwise they do a lot of faking.

Leila26: the staff I see through the windows of MacDonald's restaurants in Japan don't appear to be Americans either! Nevermind, the disputed islands, inaccurate textbooks and everything else in the world will soon be sorted out Mr Donald Trump!