'Dokdo is Japanese territory' in Japanese history textbooks... Ministry of Education protests "Correct immediately"

The Ministry of Education has urged Japan to immediately correct the approval of an elementary school textbook that downplays the coerciveness of conscription of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period and strengthens claims to sovereignty over Dokdo.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Education, in a statement issued by its spokesperson, said, "The government of the Republic of Korea cannot help but be disappointed by the result of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan approving the revised and supplemented version of an elementary school social studies textbook that describes distorted history from a Japan-centric and erroneous historical perspective," adding, "We strongly protest the approval of the revised and supplemented version of the Japanese elementary school social studies textbook that describes Dokdo, which is 'historically, geographically, and under international law clearly Korean territory,' as 'Japan's inherent territory'."

It continued, "We also express regret over the approval of a textbook that weakens the coerciveness of conscription during the Japanese colonial period," and added, "For a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship, we hope the Japanese government will immediately cease its unjust claims regarding our territory and history."

Along with this, the Ministry of Education stated, "We will continue to strengthen public history education and Dokdo education for elementary, middle, and high school students to correct the injustice of Japan's historical distortion and territorial sovereignty infringement."

Meanwhile, earlier, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology held a textbook screening committee and approved textbooks to be used in elementary schools starting in 2024.

Tokyo Shoseki, which holds the largest market share for elementary school social studies textbooks, changed the existing expression in the 6th-grade social studies textbook from "Korean men were conscripted as soldiers in the Japanese army" to "They participated as soldiers in the Japanese army, and later a conscription system was adopted," thereby diluting the coerciveness of conscription.

The new social studies textbook also includes the unfounded claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory and that Korea is illegally occupying it.