Japan`s territorial rows with Korea, China showing signs of easing

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shuji Kira on Thursday mentioned the possibility that his government will postpone taking the territorial dispute over Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, which Japan calls Takeshima, to the International Court of Justice. China and Japan also agreed to hold a vice ministerial meeting to seek a breakthrough in their territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, which Beijing calls Diaoyu. Observers say the three East Asian neighbors are seeking a way out of their intensifying territorial rifts

According to Japanese media reports Friday, Kira said in a news conference Thursday, Tokyo will begin to consider whether to take the Dokdo dispute to the international court itself without Seoul’s consent and when to do so.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Kemba told a news conference Friday that Tokyo was preparing to take the Dokdo row to the court but also watching Seoul’s reaction, but Osamu Fujimura, the Japanese government`s chief spokesman, told another news briefing that there was no change in Tokyo’s plan to proceed with the lawsuit.

Japanese media are following the change of atmosphere in their government. The leading daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on opinions urging Tokyo to hold the unilateral lawsuit card if Seoul again takes a tough stance.

Another daily, the Mainichi Shimbun, quoted an official at the Japanese Foreign Ministry as saying, “Tokyo’s response to Seoul, which shows signs of easing tension, is different from its response to Beijing,” indicating that postponing the lawsuit could be an option if Seoul requests reconciliation.

The Sino-Japanese conflict over the Senkaku Islands is also showing signs of change. Shinsuke Sugiyama, director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and his Chinese counterpart Luo Zhao-hui in Tokyo Thursday agreed to hold bilateral talks at the vice foreign ministerial level to resolve the dispute. The time and venue of the talks have yet to be determined.

On Thursday, Japanese ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki told the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, that Japan views its security alliance with the U.S. as an “important deterrence” in the Senkaku dispute. On speculation that the Dokdo row could escalate into a full-blown conflict, he said, “It`s not going to happen and it shouldn`t happen.”

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