Tokyo expected to take litigation step on its own


Seoul on Thursday sent Tokyo a diplomatic note rebuffing Japan’s proposal to bring the spat over the Dokdo islets to the International Court of Justice as diplomatic tension has surged over the archipelago state’s denial of its colonial past.

Calling the rejection “very disappointing,” Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said that his government will seek proper measures including referring the case to the court on its own, according to Kyodo News.

The note from Seoul is said to reiterate Korea’s strong will to protect Dokdo in the East Sea and its stance that it is not under dispute as it is legally, geographically and historically Korea’s territory.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry gave the note to an official from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul who visited the government building in the morning.

“In the note, the Seoul government presented its position and principle over Dokdo in a stern and succinct manner,” a government source said, declining to be named.

In protest of President Lee Myung-bak’s Aug. 10 visit to the islets and his call for Emperor Akihito’s apology for Japan’s colonial atrocities, Tokyo delivered last Tuesday to a Korean mission its written proposal to have the fray taken to the ICJ.

Seoul’s rejection of the proposal came a day after the upper house of Japan’s bicameral Diet passed a resolution calling on Korea to withdraw the “illegal” occupation of the islets, which it calls “Takeshima.” Its lower court adopted a separate resolution last Friday that condemned Lee for his visit to Dokdo and call for the emperor’s apology.

Observers say the Tokyo government may take the litigation process although the court proceedings cannot be initiated without Seoul’s consent. Korea has not accepted the court’s compulsory jurisdiction.

Should Tokyo file a suit with the ICJ, the court is to notify Seoul of the fact. But Seoul does not need to explain why it will not respond to the call for litigation.

Even if the litigation process cannot move forward, observers say that Japan may utilize the process itself to claim that Seoul is not confident in its argument concerning the sovereignty issue.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is expected to continue his tough stance on the territorial spat amid mounting political pressure ahead of parliamentary polls expected as early as in October.

On Wednesday, the upper house of the Diet adopted a censure motion against Noda in protest of his failure to keep a promise to hold the elections soon and his Democratic Party of Japan having unilaterally passed a set of bills at the Diet’s lower house.

He was the third prime minister against which a censure motion was adopted. The motion is not legally binding, but dealt a political blow to the embattled Noda. The two former prime ministers censured at the legislature stepped down within three months.

As Noda comes under more political pressure, he would make more efforts not to seem soft on a range of territorial and historical issues that have strained ties with neighboring states such as Korea and China, analysts said.

On Monday, Noda claimed that there was no evidence that Japan forcibly mobilized Korean women for sexual enslavement during World War II. He has also said that his government will sternly deal with its territorial issues.

Some observers said that the diplomatic tension over Dokdo may not sharply escalate for the time being since preparing for litigation would take at least several months.

Seoul also appears be attempting to maintain composure. But efforts to gain international support over the spat are expected to continue with both sides apparently moving to drum up international support for their claims through the media and other means.


By Song Sang-ho
(sshluck@heraldcorp.com)