Korea expresses ‘deep regret’ over historical inaccuracies in Japanese textbooks

Koichi Aiboshi, Japanese ambassador to Korea, enters the Foreign Ministry building in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Friday. [YONHAP]

The Korean government expressed deep regret on Friday over Japan approving middle school textbooks that claim sovereignty over the easternmost Dokdo islets and obscure wartime atrocities during the Japanese colonial period.

Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology approved on Friday 18 middle school textbooks on history for use starting in 2025. Among the 18, 15 described Korea as “illegally occupying” the Dokdo islets, which Japan calls “Takeshima.” Many textbooks also watered down wartime atrocities including sexual slavery and forced labor, and distorted the context of Japan’s (1910-45) colonization of Korea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official statement Friday opposing the approval of the textbooks and summoned Koichi Aiboshi, Japanese ambassador to Seoul, to protest the matter.

“We express deep regret over the Japanese government’s approval of middle school textbooks based on unjust claims regarding Dokdo,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a statement.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that Dokdo is Korea’s sovereign territory historically, geographically and by international law and that the Korean government cannot accept any Japanese claims over the islets. The statement also called out how the textbooks described victims of wartime sexual slavery and forced labor by the Japanese military, saying that it “does not reveal the forceful nature” of the crimes.

“We urge the Japanese government to sincerely practice historical education based on the spirit of apology and regret,” the statement said. “As the basis for building a future-oriented relationship between Korea and Japan begins with a correct understanding of history, we hope that the Japanese government will face history directly and engage in the education of future generations with a more responsible attitude.”

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Aiboshi and met with the ambassador to deliver the Korean government’s strong regret and opposition to the textbooks' approval.

In an apparent attempt to water down the forced nature of wartime mobilization, one of the 18 approved middle school history textbooks stated that conscription was “partly” applied to Korea and Taiwan during the Pacific War.

In another textbook, the term “military comfort women” was removed from the description of the victims of sexual slavery from Korea, China and the Philippines who were forced to serve Japanese soldiers at military brothels.

Instead, the textbook included Japan among the other nations, indicating that Japanese women were also victims of sexual slavery.

A different history book said that in 1910, Japan annexed and colonized Korea, and removed the phrase “against the backdrop of its military power” from the context.

Last month, the Korean government similarly summoned Taisuke Mibae, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to protest the Dokdo-related “Takeshima Day” event hosted by the Shimane Prefecture on Feb. 22.

The Dokdo islets, effectively controlled by Korea, serve as a painful reminder of Japan's imperialistic past and its colonial rule over the peninsula.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]