- Title: SOUTH KOREA: South Koreans hold an anti-Japan rally
- Date: 22nd February 2014
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FEBRUARY 22, 2014) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN STUDENTS GIVING THREE CHEERS IN FRONT OF JAPANESE EMBASSY BUILDING IN SEOUL STUDENT WAVING SOUTH KOREA'S NATIONAL FLAG IN FRONT OF JAPANESE EMBASSY BUILDING JAPANESE NATIONAL FLAG VARIOUS OF STUDENTS WAVING SOUTH KOREA NATIONAL FLAGS WHILE CHANTING ANTI-JAPAN SLOGANS: "ABOLISH TAKESHIMA DAY!" VARIOUS OF SOUTH KOREAN ACTIVIST WEARING KOREAN TRADITIONAL UNIFORM, SINGING DOKDO SONG ACTIVIST DANCING WHILE WAVING BANNERS READING IN KOREA: "DOKDO IS SOUTH KOREAN TERRITORY" CHILD WAVING SOUTH KOREA'S NATIONAL FLAGS DANCE PERFORMANCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 60-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN ACTIVIST MOON JAE-IK SAYING: "We are here to hold a rally urging Japan to withdraw Shimane Prefecture's far-fetched Takeshima Day event and the distorted education of Japanese textbooks." VARIOUS OF ACTIVIST BRINGING LETTER TO JAPANESE EMBASSY, PUTTING LETTER INTO BOX VARIOUS OF SOUTH KOREAN PROTESTER BEING UNDER ARRESTED BY POLICE POLICE PUSHING PROTESTER INTO POLICE CAR, PROTESTER SHOUTING: "DOKDO IS OUR TERRITORY!" POLICE CAR LEAVING
- Embargoed: 9th March 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Korea, Republic of
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5G3MBQFFKNMD8M60VPT2OOPTQ
- Story Text: South Korean students and activists rallied against Japan on Saturday (February 22), urging it to drop its claims over disputed islands called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
Japan and South Korea have a long-simmering feud over a set of desolate islands roughly equidistant from both countries.
Japan's Shimane Prefecture has marked February 22 as "Takeshima Day" since 2005 when the Prefecture council passed a bill designating it as such.
More than 150 students and activists gathered in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul to denounce Japan's claim over the islands. They chanted anti-Japan slogans: "Dokdo is Korean Territory, Abolish Takeshima Day!"
Last month, Japan's education ministry announced new teaching guidelines that will seek to emphasise Japan's view on islands disputed between Japan, Korea and China.
The updated guidelines, which instruct teachers how to teach classes, were announced by Japanese Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura who said that they aimed to teach children about what Japan considered to be its territory.
The new guidelines are for both middle and high schools, with middle school guidelines going into effect in 2016 and high school in 2017.
"We are here to hold a rally urging Japan to withdraw Shimane Prefecture's far-fetched Takeshima Day event and the distorted education of Japanese textbooks," said 60-year-old South Korean activist Moon Jae-ik.
After the rally, one activist sent a protest letter to the Japanese embassy urging abolition of the controversial event.
One protester, clad in South Korea's national flags, was detained by police.
Tokyo's assertions of its sovereignty over the isles have in the past sparked protests in South Korea, where bitter memories linger of Japan's 1910-1945 colonisation of the peninsula.
Japan also has a territorial dispute with China over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None