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Tokyo to Propose History Dialogue With Beijing, Seoul: Paper
The secretaries general of Japan's three ruling coalition parties decided Wednesday to propose conducting historical dialogue with China and South Korea to promote mutual understanding between Japan and the two Neighboring countries during their visit to Beijing and Seoul next month, a Japanese daily reported Thursday.
The suggestion will be part of a project proposal comprising five pillars, which also include teacher exchanges between Japan and the two countries, as well as exchanges of academics and experts between Japan and the two countries, the Sankei Shimbun reported.
The other pillars are expanded sports exchanges and strengthening mutual academic support of Korean, Chinese and Japanese studies, the daily said.
The proposals are aimed at easing mutual distrust following criticism from China and South Korea over Japan's controversial history textbooks by activating frank dialogue on historical recognition, in which not only academics but politicians and people from the business sector can also participate, the paper said.
Japan's junior high school history textbooks for use in the new school year that begins in April 2002, including one written by a group of Japanese "nationalist" historians, has drawn fire from China and South Korea as they distort history and gloss over atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers before and during the World War II.
The coalition parties, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Foreign Ministry will begin considering a more detailed framework on the proposals, the paper said.
Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and his counterparts Tetsuzo Fuyushiba of the New Komeito party and Takeshi Noda of the New Conservative Party (NCP) are scheduled to make a four-day trip to China and South Korea from July 8.
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