By Yuki Tsukui

Diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea are getting worse and growing tense. There are some historical problems. For example, the Takeshima Islands problem, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paying homage at the controversial　Yasukuni War Shrine, and the different interpretations of history in textbooks.

According to a telephone survey in Korea, it was found that the country which Koreans feel most threaten Korean security is North Korea at 30.8 percent. Just below that, at 29.5 percent, is Japan. Conflict between Japan and Korea is intensifying for the possession of the Takeshima Islands (the Korean name is Dokdo.)

Takeshima consists of two islets, one large and one small. It is located in Oki-gun, Shimane Prefecture approximately 160 km west of the Oki Islands, and southwest of the Korean island Yuryou. The area of these islands is 23 square kilometers, which is approximately five times the size of Tokyo Dome. Both of the islets, called Onnajima and Otokojima, have steep bluffs. People cannot live there because it is difficult to get drinking water.

There are no natural resources under the seabed in this exclusive economic zone. The main prize is fishing rights. The marine resources in wide range around the islets are regarded as important.

These islands have been in dispute since the Edo period. At the beginning of the 17th century, people in Shimane prefecture received the Takeshima Islands from the Shogunate Government and they used them as fishing grounds. On the other hand, Korean fisherman often went fishing there at the end of the 17th century.

A resident of Shimane requested the Meiji government to incorporate the Takeshima Islands as Japanese territory in September 1905. They designated them the property of Japan on January 28, 1905.

However, the situation changed after World War ��. The U.S. military, which occupied Japan at that time, set the MacArthur Line to prohibit fishing in the sea near Korea by Japanese fishermen on June 22, 1946. In spite of this, Japanese fishing boats went near mainland Korea. On January 18, 1952, South Korean President Lee Seung-man declared unilateral ocean rights and set the Lee Seung-man Declaration Line in expectation of the abolishment of the MacArthur Line.

The Takeshima Islands became Korean territory according to this new line. The Korean government established a fishery resources protection law on December 12, 1953. Moreover, if Japanese fisherman crossed the Lee Seung-man Line Korean would confiscate the Japanese fishing boats and intern the men in concentration camps.

This line was abolished on December 18, 1965 when the Japan-South Korea Fishery Treaty was signed, which normalized Japanese-South Korean diplomatic relations. However, they only put the problem aside. The Korean government has refused to take the matter to the International Court of Justice. Therefore, the dispute has not been resolved yet.

On March 16, 2005, the Shimane Prefectural Assembly approved an ordinance to designate February 22 as "Takeshima Day" in commemoration of the 100th anniversary that Takeshima was incorporated.

In April 2006, the Korean government tried to name the submarine topography and to claim it as territorial waters. Japan also tried to conduct a marine survey near the islets. Japanese ships and Korean patrol ships confronted each other on the sea for a while.

However, Administrative Vice Foreign Ministers between the two countries held a conference. They reached an agreement where Japan stops its survey and Korea drops its proposal about designating an original name to the international conference in June. However, the cause of the conflict still remains, and a solution has not been found yet.

Korea has claimed sovereignty of Dokdo by various means. On September 15, 1954, they issued postage stamps of patterns of the islets; the Japan Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications returned all letters from Korea which carried the stamp. However, stamps of Dokdo have been issued since then.

Moreover, Korea built lighthouses, observatories, and antennas on the islets, and Korean security guards are permanently stationed there. Recently, Korean tourists can sail to the islets and enter a facility located on the coast of the bay. Many people in Korea have a great interest in Dokdo, and kindergarten kids sing the song "Dokdo is our island."

Generally speaking, Japanese people didn't have much interest in the beginning. However, the Takeshima Day Ordinance was enacted by the Shimane prefectural government triggered big demonstrations against it in Korea. The news was featured on TV day after day, and more and more people became interested in it. According to a survey by the Japanese media this year, 81 percent answered that the Takeshima Islets belong to Japan.

If Japanese claim dominion over the Takeshima Islets (Dokdo), Korean people think that Japanese talk nonsense. A solution to the problem has never presented itself yet because Korea refuses to have talks.

When Japan won the Sino-Japanese war and Russo-Japanese war, Japan gained an advantage over Korea and the Japanese military took control of it as a colony. The scar of invasion still remains, so "Dokdo" is considered as the first sacrifice and a symbol of the invasion from Japan. Korea has a strong will to reclaim the islets. Because of their experience during the colonial period, Koreans' anti-Japanese feelings remain firm.

However, if this problem escalates emotionally and both sides oppose each other deeply, neither side will benefit. They will only reach an agreement if they talk calmly and patiently.

The Korean boom in Japan should continue. Citizens in both Japan and Korea should actively boost international exchanges and resolve to fix any political difficulties peacefully.