July 28, 2010
Click for Video
Japan is to postpone the release of its annual defense report until after the 100th anniversary of the country's colonization of the Korean Peninsula. The move is an apparent effort to avoid escalating a territorial dispute with South Korea.
The government decided on Tuesday to delay the approval of the annual report until September. The report was due to be submitted to the Cabinet on Friday.
Some government officials had expressed concern that releasing the report before the 100th anniversary of the annexation of Korea on August 29th would draw strong protests from South Korea over a disputed island.The report says the island the Japanese call Takeshima and the South Koreans call Dokdo is part of Japan's territory.
South Korea lodges a protest over the issue every year.
The government will keep the description of the island as it is. But it will also refer to recent events in bilateral relations apparently to ease tensions with South Korea in line with Prime Minister Kan's instructions.
The events will include how Japan sided with the South over the sinking of a South Korean warship allegedly caused by a North Korean torpedo. They will also include the US-South Korean joint military drills that officials from Japan's Self-Defense Force are observing.
2010/07/28 09:57(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
Posts
