In a dramatic turnaround Thursday, the government announced that it would use all available methods and measures to pressure Japan into revising a controversial, middle-school, history textbook, that contains distortions, inaccuracies and omissions, while apparently glorifying that country's actions prior to and during World War II. After an initial meeting on April 4, officials lodged protests, but said that they would refrain from linking the incident to other issues.
Following the first meeting of a special task force Foreign Affairs and Ministry official said, Choo Kyu-ho, Pacific Affairs Bureau, told reporters in a briefing that it had bee decided to leave all options open with regard to the textbook. The meeting was presided over by Vice Education Minister Kim Sang-kwon and was attended by senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Gender Equality, Cheong Wa Dae, the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Government Information Agency.
Another official commented that as an economic power of the G7, Japan had made a huge mistake and had lost its chance to be a leader in the 21st century. He asked how could a country that could not accept responsibility and repent its pas actions gain the respect of the international community, let alone its neighbouring countries. The official said that the issue was a matter of principle and the government was not prepared to compromise, adding that if Japan thought Korea was going to respond meekly, then it had made a huge mistake as the government had many cards to play.
He continued that if the Japanese government did not act wisely it would have huge regrets in the future as this could impact on its relations with other countries.
Other officials didn't rule out the possibility of joining hands with China and North Korea to jointly address the issue. Already, the three countries took joint steps at a U.N. Human Rights Commission session in Geneva earlier this month to voice criticism against Japan.
Director general Choo said that the government plans to convene the task force meeting twice a week, with the next meeting set for Monday. "The task force will take charge of assessing the examinations of Japanese textbooks, collecting opinions at home and abroad, setting up short- and long-term measures, and working out steps to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents,Ħħ he said.
Choo added that an advisory council, which will consist of about 10 scholars of history and Japan experts, would be inaugurated on Monday.
