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History will sternly judge Japan in future: S. Korean PM

Xinhua, April 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan- koo Thursday urged Japan not to distort history, saying that history will sternly judge Japan in the future.

"(Japan) should not make historical distortions, which are not based on facts," Lee told reporters at the government complex in Seoul. "(Japan) cannot hide the solemn truth. History will sternly judge Japan sometime in the future."

The issue on Japan's distortion of history should be solemnly approached based on objective facts for future ties between Seoul and Tokyo and future generations of the two countries, Lee said.

His comments came after Japan's Education Ministry on Monday approved 18 textbooks on history, civics and geography that will be used as teaching materials from 2016 for middle school students.

Among the total, 13 textbooks stated that South Korea "has illegally occupied" the Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan, tripling the number just four years ago. The number of textbooks claiming that the islets are "an inherent part of Japanese territory" rose from nine to 15 in the same period.

On Tuesday, Japan's Foreign Ministry presented to its cabinet the so-called Diplomatic Blue Paper, which included its territorial claim over the islets.

Some Japanese textbooks stated that the islets were governed by Japan from the fourth to sixth century, which South Korea dismissed as groundless historically.

Touching on this, the South Korean prime minister said that he will instruct the education ministry to strengthen research activities and take countermeasures based on historical facts, saying that the government support should be provided for research on ancient history of South Korea and Japan.

Dokdo is comprised of two main islets and a group of smaller rocks, lying 87 km east of the South Korean island of Ulleungdo. The islets have been administered by South Korea since it stationed border guards there in 1954.

Japan claimed its sovereignty over the rocky outcroppings, but South Korea said the islets were the first victim of Japan's imperialistic occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Endi