Japan protests South Korean President’s remarks

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has lashed out at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s call for an apology from Japan’s Emperor Akihito for Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula if he wants to visit South Korea, calling the request “rude.” Japanese Kyodo News Agency quoted Noda as saying,”I do not know why South Korean President called the remarks” .. he said, adding “It’s unfortunate comments”. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in keeping a policy since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power, has said he will not visit the shrine and has asked members of his Cabinet to stay away. Meanwhile Japanese National Public Safety Commission Chairman Jin Matsubara has strongly criticized President Lee Myung-bak’s call for an apology from Japan’s emperor, calling the request “rude.” Japan’s Jiji Press News on Wednesday quoted Matsubara as saying that Lee’s call for the apology and his recent visit to the Dokdo islets were inappropriate. Matsubara, who is also Japan’s Minister for the Abduction Issue, made the remark while visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Wednesday, the 67th anniversary of Japan’s surrender during World War Two. South Korean President Lee Myung Bak knocked Japan for not addressing the sense of injustice still felt by Koreans over its colonial rule during Friday’s unprecedented visit to the Korean-controlled islets at the center of Japan’s latest territorial dispute, Yonhap News Agency reported Monday, citing an official from the presidential office. Lee said Tuesday that the Japanese emperor should offer a sincere apology for his country’s colonial rule of Korea if he wants to visit South Korea. “I have said (the Emperor) may come here if he is willing to apologize from his heart to those who died fighting for independence,” Lee said in a meeting with teachers in North Chungcheong Province, according to the presidential office. Lee drew sharp protests from Japan by visiting an islet cluster collectively known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan. The islets, which lie roughly halfway between the two countries, are also claimed by Tokyo. “Japan should sincerely apologize because it started a bad war, but it has not done so. That’s why pent-up grievances are not resolved,” the official quoted Lee as saying, according to Yonhap. President Lee made the remarks the day before South Korea’s Liberation Day, which marks independence from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule.