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Japan has again included an unfounded claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory in high school textbooks scheduled for use next spring. The South Korean government lodged an immediate, strong protest.
On March 24, Japan’s Ministry of Education convened a full session of its textbook screening committee and finalized approvals for high school textbooks to be used beginning in 2027. The review covered social studies titles, including Japanese history, world history, politics and economics, and geography.
Most of the newly approved politics/economics and geography textbooks reiterate the Japanese government’s territorial claims to Dokdo, consistent with current textbooks.
The geography textbook currently published by Teikokushoin describes “Takeshima” (竹島 — Japan’s name for Dokdo) as “territory inherently belonging to Japan, declared as such by the Japanese government in 1905 and incorporated into Shimane Prefecture under international law,” and states that “Korea is illegally occupying it.”
Last year, Japanese publisher Ninomiya Shoten revised Dokdo-related content in its Our Integrated Geography textbook and added the previously absent phrase “Korea’s illegal occupation” during its screening application.
Seoul strongly protested Japan’s approval of high school textbooks that it says distort historical facts through a Japan-centered perspective, and demanded immediate corrections.
In a statement, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said, “We strongly protest that the Japanese government again approved textbooks containing unfounded claims about Dokdo, which is clearly our territory under historical, geographic, and international law. We make clear we cannot accept any unjustified Japanese claims regarding Dokdo.”
The ministry also expressed strong regret that the textbooks include distorted historical descriptions that downplay the coercion involved in the Japanese military’s sexual slavery and in the forced conscription of laborers, and urged the Japanese government to approach history education in line with the spirit of apology and reflection it has previously affirmed.
The ministry added, “A correct understanding of history among future generations must form the basis for a forward-looking relationship between South Korea and Japan. We hope the Japanese government faces historical facts and adopts a more responsible approach to history education.”
That day, Kim Sang-hoon, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Asia-Pacific Bureau, summoned Matsuo Hirotaka, the chargé d’affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to deliver the protest.
Chargé d’affaires Matsuo declined to answer reporters’ questions about whether he believed Japan’s claims could harm relations between South Korea and Japan, whether they might instill an inaccurate historical understanding in future generations, or whether Japan intends to revise its history textbooks or historical perspective.
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