Modern Japanese textbooks back Korean rule over Dokdo

Official textbooks from Japan’s modern era that show Korean ownership of the Dokdo islets have been made public.

The textbooks were published by Japan’s Education Ministry, and are the first state-approved textbooks published by the ministry itself to be identified that suggest that Dokdo has nothing to do with Japan.

The Independence Hall of Korea on Tuesday presented five geography and history books for Japanese elementary, middle and high schools and one atlas showing Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo at the organization`s headquarters in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

The cover of the geography book “New Map for Elementary School Geography (1905)” suggests the publisher with the line “Published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.” The book was released in March 1905 soon after Japan annexed Dokdo to Shimane Prefecture, but the “Complete Map of the Great Japan Empire” on its first page does not designate Dokdo as Japanese territory.

In contrast, the map specifically designates as Japanese territories Taiwan, which Japan colonized after the Sibi (Qing)-Japan War, as well as Oki Island and satellite islands of Ryukyu (now the Okinawa islands). The section “Territories Comprising Japan” in the statistics tables of the textbook lists territories of Japan, but does not include Dokdo.

“The Entire Map of Japan” shown in the main part of the geography textbook “New Edition Geography Book Vol. 2 (1887)” was published by Masutaro Okamura and approved by the ministry. It shows deviant crease lines marked on Ulleung Island and Dokdo to suggest that both are Korean territories. In contrast, Japanese territories including Oki Island also are marked with different deviant crease lines to differentiate them from Korean territories.

In addition, “Elementary Geography Vols. 1 and 2 (1900)" approved by the Japanese Education Ministry shows Oki Island and Taiwan clearly marked in red to designate them as Japanese territories, but Dokdo has no such mark. Maps and the main text of “Japanese History Summary Vol. A (1886),” a history textbook also approved by the ministry, also does not identify Dokdo.

The islets are designated Korean territory or not marked at all on “New Map of All Nations (1893),” an appendix geography book approved by the Japanese Education Ministry, “New Map of Japan (1892),” and “Detailed Map of Japan (1892), which were publicized by the Northeast Asian History Foundation of Korea prior to the publicizing of the textbooks from Japan`s modern era.

savoring@donga.com