TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday (January 20) objected to mention on the Pyeongchang Olympics website of islands disputed by his country and South Korea, saying it was “unacceptable” and went against the spirit of the international competition.
He added that Japan had conveyed its views on the matter to the South Korean government and called on them to make an appropriate response.
Ties between Japan and South Korea, host of the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, have often been fraught over history, especially Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean peninsula.
Both claim the disputed islands – known as Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean – which are about 200 km east of South Korea in the Sea of Japan, and a little further than that from the southwest coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu.
In an explanation of national culture, the Pyeongchang website refers to Dokdo and “the East Sea,” the Korean name for the Sea of Japan. “Dokdo holds a special place in the hearts of Koreans as they hold pride in defending Korea’s easternmost reached territory,” the website says.
South Korea sees Japan’s claims to the islands as stemming from its colonization, and has long voiced opposition to what they say is a reluctance by Japanese leaders to atone for the country’s World War Two history.
Japan temporarily recalled its ambassador to South Korea on Jan. 6 over a statue commemorating Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two, which Tokyo said violated an agreement to resolve the issue.
