Tokyo irked as Seoul site names islands
Tokyo, Jan. 20: Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida on Friday 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.
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.
Mr Kishida said on Friday the references violated the Olympic charter’s opposition to using sports for political purposes and the goal of establishing mutual understanding. “The contents of the Olympic and Paralympic organisers’ website are unacceptable when compared with our country’s views on territorial rights to Takeshima and the name of the Sea of Japan,” he said.
He said Japan had conveyed its thinking on the matter to the South Korean government and called on Seoul to make an appropriate response.