President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday issued a strong warning to Japan, criticizing Tokyo for failing to live up to the spirit of its apology for colonial wrongdoings and for again pursuing the status of a hegemonic state.
"Japan already apologized (for its past). We don`t request repeat apology. We`re requesting Japan to turn its apology into practice," Roh said in a speech marking the 87th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement Day.
Ties between the two countries have been soured over a range of historical and territorial disputes.
"We are against the actions that undermine the apology." He pointed out that Japan has made little effort to change its attitudes over controversial disputes such as Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi`s visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the nation`s war dead, including war criminals; and approval of history textbooks that critics claim glorify its past invasions of Asian countries in the 1900s.
He also criticized Japan of designating Feb. 22 as "Takeshima Day," reinforcing their symbolic claim on the Korea-controlled Dokdo islands.
Roh said given the disputes between Japan and Korea, it is natural for the Korean people to have concerns that "Japan is still trying to justify its history of aggression and domination and might move on a path to hegemonism again." The president promised his government will make every effort to convince Japan to take the proper action regarding its past wrongdoing.
The Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
"If Japan wants to become a leading country in the world, it should gain trust from the international community through its conduct in the light of universal human conscience and historical experience, not just by revising its laws or strengthening its military forces," Roh said at the ceremony in Seoul.
In response, Japan urged Roh to carefully look at Japan`s commitment to peace and focus on the future.
"I really want President Roh Moo Hyun to take a closer look at Japan`s path to protect freedom, democracy and human rights and its efforts to establish peace in the world," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.
"I think the development of the Japan-South Korea relationship in a future-oriented manner will serve the national interests of both countries," he said.
On March 1, 1919, hundreds of thousands of Koreans, including students, took to the streets to rally against imperial Japan`s colonial rule of the peninsula. Many were killed by Japanese police trying to quell the unprecedented, nationwide protests.
Koreans across the country commemorated the uprising yesterday and hung national flags on the streets in the cities and outside of their houses.
Hundreds of students gathered on the streets of central Seoul and read the declaration of independence, wearing black skirts or white pants with white shirts to re-create the uprising 87 years ago.
About 30 members of the Headquarters Intelligence Detachment, a former special spy agency, demonstrated in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, holding pictures of patriots who laid down their lives for their country.
(aibang@heraldm.com) By Annie I. Bang
