[Editorial] Tokyo’s futile campaign

As expected, Korea has flatly rejected Japan’s proposal that the two countries jointly refer their territorial row over the Dokdo islets to the International Court of Justice.

Seoul has delivered a diplomatic note to Tokyo to reaffirm its stance that no territorial disputes exist regarding Dokdo because the islets in the East Sea are an integral part of Korean territory.

Following Seoul’s rejection, Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said in a statement that Tokyo would take “appropriate measures,” including taking the case to the Hague-based court on its own.

Even if Tokyo files a suit with the ICJ, the court cannot initiate a trial because Seoul has not given its consent. The court has no jurisdiction to go into the merits of a case unless the two parties concerned reach a clear agreement to accept it.

Nevertheless Japan is expected to bring the case to the court in a bid to demonstrate to the international community the legitimacy of its claims to Dokdo, which it calls Takeshima.

Tokyo calculates that Seoul’s avoidance of a trial at the ICJ will bolster its case that Korea is illegally occupying its territory. Tokyo may argue that Seoul’s refusal to go to trial indicates that it is not convinced of its sovereignty over Dokdo.

But Tokyo should realize that its campaign will only backfire. Its efforts to drum up international support will simply highlight its shameless greed for territory and the continuing influence of its imperial past.

Japan clandestinely annexed Dokdo in 1905 in the thick of the Russo-Japanese war. It occupied the islets to install surveillance facilities and gather intelligence on Russian naval movements. After winning the war, it did not return the islets to Korea. Rather, it annexed the entire Korean peninsula in 1910.

If Japan takes the Dokdo case to the ICJ, it will face a demand from China or Taiwan that Tokyo do the same about the Senkaku Islands, which are called the Diaoyu Islands in China. Japan incorporated the disputed islands in 1895 during the Sino-Japanese War.

In fact, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has already suggested that the Senkaku/Diaoyu issues be handled at the ICJ. Referring to Japan’s proposal to bring the Dokdo issue to the court, Ma said Japan might as well resolve the Senkaku/Diaoyu case in the same way.

If Japan insists on asking the ICJ to resolve the Dokdo case while refusing to do the same regarding the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute, it cannot avoid criticism for having double standards. By referring the Dokdo issue to the court, Tokyo will create an untenable situation for itself.

Japan’s claims to Dokdo and Senkaku/Diaoyu demonstrate that it is still held hostage by its imperial past. Had Japan come to terms with the wrongdoing it committed during the imperial era, it would have given up its claims to the islands. But pitifully, it is still obsessed with the territories it seized during its imperial expansion.

Tokyo says it will take other measures to support its Dokdo claims, such as a public relations drive on the Internet. It should realize that whatever it does about Dokdo, it will remain Korea’s territory. Korea can no more give up the islets than Japan can give up Tsushima.

In a word, Tokyo’s Takeshima campaign is futile. It may even hurt it. It will certainly fuel antipathy in Korea against the former colonial ruler. Furthermore, it may make Japan the odd man out by bringing into relief its unwarranted territorial greed.

Japan has estranged itself from its neighbors by denying its responsibility for the sufferings of the women who served as sexual slaves for Japanese troops during World War II.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda brazenly claimed that there was no evidence that Japan used force to mobilize Korean women for sexual enslavement. He needs look no further than the old Korean women who protest regularly before the Japanese Embassy in Seoul demanding compensation for their suffering.

We understand that Japanese political leaders are spewing nationalistic remarks to play to the electorate in the run-up to the coming general elections. We hope they restore reason after the elections.

Japan needs to make genuine efforts to come to terms with its past. Otherwise, it cannot promote cooperation with its neighbors, especially Korea. Tokyo and Seoul have every reason to build constructive ties as China is emerging as a superpower.