[Editorial] Lost address

After five months of efforts, officials at the National Archives of Korea last week succeeded in restoring a deteriorated map printed by the Japanese government in the 1930s, which shows the Dokdo islets as Korean territory. The map drawn up by the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army draws a thick line between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, which was under its colonial rule at that time, and places Dokdo and nearby Ulleungdo on the peninsula’s side.

The archive officials should be praised for having persevered in restoring the map, which will be yet another piece of evidence refuting Japan’s claims to the rocky islets controlled by Korea.

Following the news of their meaningful work were reports by Japanese media that Google Inc. recently deleted the name of Dokdo on its English-language Web mapping service. The updated Google Maps removed the Korean address of Dokdo, displaying the islets as the Liancourt Rocks, a name that was taken from a French whaling ship that first introduced the islets to Europe in the 19th century.

The U.S. online search service denied claims it had made the changes on requests by the Japanese government, saying the move was made in accordance with its own policy.

But Japanese media reported Google had accepted the request from a Japanese prefecture to delete the Korean address of the islets. The Japanese cabinet, which decided in March to make a similar demand to Google, appears to have placed the prefecture at the forefront, judging that it would be a more effective approach.

The Seoul government turned out to have had no idea of Google’s decision until it was given last-minute notice on Oct. 18. The Foreign Ministry belatedly came forward to demand that the search giant restore the Korean address of Dokdo, denouncing its latest change as “unacceptable.”

The ministry should have kept track of Japan’s move and made a proper response along with a provincial government that administers the islets, which might have made Google feel more burdened to change its policy. Civic groups, which have raised voices against Japan’s claims to Dokdo, may have to hold themselves partly responsible for having remained unaware of the move.

In a statement explaining its mapping service update, Google said it understands that “names of places can raise deep emotions, which is why we have invested so much time to ensure we get to the best outcome for our users.” What the Japanese map restored by Korean experts shows may indicate that its previous policy on Dokdo might have been the best.