Kim Dae-jung Expects for Japanese New Revisions of TextbooksSouth Korean President Kim Dae-jung Wednesday voiced his expectation that the issue of Japan's recent approval of history-distorting textbooks could be resolved through new revisions.Kim made the remarks when he met a Japanese delegation of the South Korea-Japan Economic Association. It is the first time that Kim made public his thinking over the textbook issue since the Japanese government approved eight middle school textbooks beautifying Japan's wartime atrocities. Kim pointed out that the South Korean people are feeling great dissatisfaction with the Japanese government's authorization of the textbooks in question, which has come as a great disappointment given the spirit of the joint declaration. In 1998 when Kim visited Japan, Seoul and Tokyo issued the joint declaration for the South Korean-Japanese partnership oriented into the 21st century, and Japan made an official apology for its past wrongdoing and stressed the need for the youth of both nations to fully recognize their mutual history. "I think the proper understanding of history is a basic element that determines relations between countries, although it should be remembered that history is a thing of the past," he said. The South Korean president asked the Japanese business leaders to help address the issue as good relations between Asian nations and Japan are necessary not only for the peace of Japan but also for the peace of Asia. |
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