Seoul to take stern measures against Japanese distortion of history

A South Korean pan-government special task force held its first meeting on Tuesday in Seoul, deciding to take stern measures against Japanese distortion of history and claims to the South Korean islets of Dokdo.

The task force, consisting of officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, education, national defense and culture-tourism as well as the presidential office, concluded the level of Japan'shistory distortion is "very serious" and decided to file an official complaint with the Japanese Education Ministry, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported.

The decision comes as Japanese educational authorities are to screen the new edition of school textbook published by Japanese Fuso Publishing Co. The new edition textbook has reportedly seriously distorting Japanese aggression of neighboring countries and colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

Authored by a group of right-wing nationalists, the "Fusosha" textbook, named after its publisher, has been the source of an intense dispute between Japan and other countries since it was first published in 2001.

South Korean government set up the task force on last Sunday under the leadership of Vice Education Minister Kim Young-sik.

Moreover, the dispute between the two countries over the Dokdo island also escalated recently.

The prefectural council of Japan's Shimane Prefecture is set tovote on a bill Wednesday that would designate Feb. 22 as the day of "Takeshima," the Japanese name for Dokdo.

Dokdo, a group of 33 small islets, is located some 89 kilometers southeast to South Korean Uleung Island and 160 kilometers northwest to Japanese Oki Island.

South Korea insists the Dokdo islets has been listed as its territory in history literature since 5th century. And South Korea has deployed a group of coast police on the islets since 1954.

Japan also claims the "Takeshima" islets has been its territory since 17th century as literatures say.

Source: Xinhua