�젣紐� �뾾�쓬
| Japanese Document Shows Dokdo Is
Korean Territory | |
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Japan has
claimed sovereignty over the rocky islets, but a document dating from 1951
showed that the Japanese government excluded Dokdo from its territory. / Korea
Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Kim Rahn
Staff
Reporter
A Japanese government document dating from 1951 shows that
Japan excluded Dokdo from its territory ��� apparently negating on Japan's claim
that it has long-recognized the islets as Japanese.
The Korea Maritime
Institute said Saturday that it discovered a Japanese document that excluded the
islets from Japan's maritime territory when it rearranged property acquired
during its colonization of nearby countries.
``Prime Ministerial
Ordinance No. 24,' issued on June 6, 1951, stated that Japanese territory was
Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and nearby islands and excluded Jeju Island,
Ulleung Island and Dokdo.
Some old Japanese maps and books had previously
omitted Dokdo from its territory, but it was the first time a government
ordinance did, according to the institute.
``The ordinance shows that
Japan did not have the authority to exercise property rights over Dokdo because
it recognized that the islets did not belong to it ��� meaning they belonged to
Korea, known then as ``Joseon,' Yoo Mi-rim, a senior researcher of the the
Korea Maritime Institute's Korea Dokdo Research Center, said.
Japan has
claimed that it acknowledged Dokdo as its territory long ago, but the document
shows that it did not, at least before the San Francisco Peace Treaty was
concluded on Sept. 8, 1951, Yoo said.
The agreement, which took effect in
April 1952, officially renounced Japan's rights to Korea and other Asian regions
it colonized after World War II. The treaty was the beginning of an over
50-years of dispute between Korea and Japan over Dokdo because the document did
not explicitly state Dokdo's legal status.
``According to the document,
Japan recognized Korea's sovereignty over Ulleung Island and Dokdo until just
before the treaty was made. It is also significant that the Japanese government
acknowledged so in its own ordinance,' Yoo said.
The ordinance was among
several documents sent in July from the Japanese foreign ministry to Korean
lawyer, Choi Bong-tae, who won a suit to demand that the ministry disclose the
documents covering Korea-Japan talks. The section relating to ordinance No. 24
was removed from the documents when Choi received them, but the maritime
institute later discovered it, Yoo said.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr |
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