S.Korea: S.Korean-Japanse Summit Based on PreconditionA South Korean-Japanese summit will be based on a precondition of Japan's acceptance of correct public opinion on the history textbooks and the 1998 South Korea-Japan Partnership Declaration, said South Korean Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Han Seung-soo Monday.At a meeting of South Korean National Assembly, or parliament, Han condemned Tokyo for the strained relations between the two countries, saying Japan has failed to take an honest and open look at history. He pointed out that South Korean-Japanese relations should be developed in the spirit of looking forward to the future based on straightforward look at what really happened in history. To prevent Japan from distorting history, Han said it is important to enlighten the peoples of South Korea and Japan about an objective view of history by increasing academic and cultural exchanges between South Korea and Japan. The minister also said he will make an issue of Japan's textbook containing distortions of historical facts at international meetings to discuss the ethical issue of Japan. Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni shrine which houses 14 Class A Japanese war criminals and 2,500,000 war dead after the Japanese Education Ministry approved eight middle school history textbooks which distort historical facts and beautify Japanese atrocities at war times. Distortion of history and Koizumi's visit to the shrine have caused great indignation and strong reactions from the world, especially from those Asian countries which suffered a lot from the Japanese atrocities. |
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