Noda should act like the leader of a major country

Japan is waging a diplomatic war with Korea under the excuse of President Lee Myung-bak’s recent visit to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, which Tokyo claims as its territory. Japan’s Cabinet, parliament and right-wing forces have united to bash Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told the Diet Thursday that Seoul was “illegally occupying” Dokdo. The day before, Japan`s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the same thing. Tokyo also criticized as "deviating from common sense" President Lee’s recent demand that the Japanese emperor apologize to victims of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, urging Seoul to withdraw the comment and apologize.

A Korean diplomat who visited the Japanese Foreign Ministry to return Noda`s letter of protest was denied entrance into the building. What a shame that Japan had to resort to such narrow-minded diplomatic retaliation. Even countries at war with each other never stop diplomats from the other side from entering its Foreign Ministry building. In addition, Japan will halt its purchase of Korean treasury bonds. This is also narrow-minded economic retaliation following China’s suspension of rare earth metal exports to Japan amid their territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in China.

Noda’s reactionary nationalism has aggravated the situation. Amid international condemnation in 2005 over then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which houses the remains of Class-A war criminals, Noda claimed that the facility no longer had the remains of such criminals because his country had pardoned them. Noda’s Cabinet also revised a law on atomic energy to pave way for Japan`s nuclear armament and defends Tokyo’s exercise of its right to “collective self-defense.” The prime minister`s narrow view of history and lack of political philosophy are regrettable.

It is undesirable for Korea and Japan to continue their war of words and drive bilateral relations to an irrecoverable state. With an approval rating of less than 20 percent, the Noda Cabinet will likely keep questioning Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo to recover popular support. At a time when Tokyo is under criticism for being soft in diplomacy over territorial disputes with Russia and China, its incumbent government is obviously trying to win back support through the Dokdo dispute. Seoul needs to respond to Tokyo’s provocations by strengthening Korean control over Dokdo and promote to the world the historical and legal legitimacy of the islets as Korean territory rather than reacting spontaneously and emotionally.

Korea should defend its national dignity and pride, and the people must avoid internal disputes in the face of Japan’s renewed attempt to usurp Dokdo. President Lee and his administration should also convince the public that Seoul is effectively fending off Tokyo’s continued strategy of making Dokdo an area of territorial dispute.