Some Gasoline for the Flames . . .

Well, well . . . and what did I happen to see in today’s Letters to the Editor?

A map included with the March 17 news story “Islands Come Between South Korea and Japan” used the terms “East Sea” and “Dokdo.”

Regarding the term “East Sea”: Japan believes it is essential to refer to this body of water as the “Sea of Japan,” a name used widely by the global community since the early 19th century. Although South Korea asserts that the name “Sea of Japan” came into general use as a consequence of Japan’s colonial past, the name was common long before colonization in the 20th century. Therefore, Korea’s attempt to change the name to “East Sea” is without merit.

Further, in March 2004 the United Nations confirmed that “Sea of Japan” is the standard term for that body of water and declared that dual designation breaches the prevailing practice of the single use of “Sea of Japan” and infringes upon the neutrality of the United Nations.

Regarding the term “Dokdo” appearing on the same map: These islands are an integral part of Japan, and thus they should be referred to as “Takeshima.”

NAOYUKI AGAWA
Minister for Public Affairs
Embassy of Japan
Washington

Take that, you Vankers!

It’s probably the best news Korea could possibly have–evidence that another nation is capable of being equally infantile about two uninhabited, godforsaken, guano-encrusted rocks. Of course, half of Japan isn’t starving to death under the heel of an evil regime next door, just in case you wanted to put all of this in context.

Now, if you think I posted the image on the right in a spirit of trivializing Japanese militarism, you’d be wrong, and I agree that on some of its disagreements with Japan, Korea has a legitimate gripe. Indeed, I’ve read just about as many excepts from the Judge Advocate General’s report of the Japanese War Crimes Tribunals as my stomach could take, and when it comes to sheer pervasive, sadistic brutality, Imperial Japan gave Nazi Germany a serious run for its money (on more occasions that anyone could possibly document, the Japanese slaughtered dozens of civilians, POWs, even captured nurses, for the sheer twisted joy of it). On the other hand, you have to be living in Bizarro World to think that Japan is going to be printing stamps like this one again anytime soon.

Say what you will about Japan’s denial about its own past; Japan today is a very different place and a far more responsible nation than any of its neighbors. For all of its veneered-over sense of its own superiority, Japan generally recognizes its nationalist nutjobs for what they are. Korea, on the other hand, mainstreams them.