JAKARTA - The call to boycott the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has strengthened in South Korea. Not because of the concern about COVID-19 as it has been increasing lately.
The call for a boycott comes after Japan reclaims Dokdo Island, in the easternmost region of South Korea, as their territory, on the map for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The calls started soon after South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested the Japan Olympic Committee on May 24. The protests were raised after a map showing the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Torch Relay route marked Dokdo Island as Japanese territory. Reportedly, Japan refused to correct the map.
In 2019, the South Korean government protested the organizers over a map that at that time marked Dokdo more clearly. Following the protests, the organizers changed the map, making Dokdo invisible. However, when enlarged, the map still shows Dokdo Island above Shimane Prefecture.
A number of figures and members of the South Korean Parliament have criticized the repeated claims made by Japan against Dokdo Island. For example, former prime minister and former chairman of the Korean Democratic Party (DPK) Lee Nak-yon.
Writing on his Facebook page this Thursday, the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee marked Dokdo as Japan and rejected South Korean demands to improve it.
"Dokdo is Korean territory historically, geographically and internationally. I strongly urge the Japanese government to correct this as soon as possible. The Olympic charter states it pursues political neutrality, and Japan's actions go against the Olympic spirit of pursuing harmony," Lee wrote in the Korea Times Thursday. 27 May.
"If Japan continues to refuse (corrects), the Korean government must take all possible measures, including boycotting the Olympics," he continued.
Meanwhile, former prime minister and presidential candidate Chung Sye-kyun, the day before wrote on Facebook that the Korean government should consider all possible actions, including boycotting the Olympics, unless removing Dokdo from the map.
"He said Japan's claim to Dokdo stems from the time they annexed Korea," he wrote, adding Japan must leave behind a dark past of imperialism.
Separately, MP Kim Byong-wook from the main opposition People Power Party also harshly criticized the claims.
"Following historical distortions in its history textbooks, Japan made claims on Dokdo via the Olympic website. It is questionable whether Tokyo is worthy of hosting the Olympics, where people around the world pursue harmony," he criticized.
Kim then gave an example of the case during the PyeongChang 2918 Winter Olympics. To host the organizers under the Korean unification flag with North Korea, the flag that was carried depicted the Korean Peninsula without Dokdo.
"Because the IOC (International Olympic Committee) did not allow it because of Japan's claim. If Japan continues its claim of Dokdo on the Olympic stage, this is an example of a double standard case," said Kim.
Previously, the South Korean Ministry of Defense firmly rejected Japan's claim to Dokdo Island, in a Japanese junior high school textbook in early April. Of the 296 books approved by the Japanese Government, 30 of them are for social science lessons. In it, contains Tokyo's claim of sovereignty over Dokdo Island.
Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea filed a strong protest, because Japan offended Dokdo Island in the country's defense white paper, as reported by Yonhap. In the book, Japan mentions Dokdo's unfinished status with South Korea, as well as the Kuril Islands' disputed status with Russia.
To note, the Japanese claim to Dokdo or Takeshima in Japan has been going on for a long time. Since 2005, Dokdo's name has always been included in the diplomat's blue book and the Japanese defense white paper.
On August 25-26, 2019, South Korea held a massive military exercise on Dokdo Island, attended by all elements from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Apart from the Navy's special forces, this exercise was also attended by the Marines, F-15Ks fighter jets, and the Aegis Sejong The Great destroyer.
At that time, the exercise was held after South Korea withdrew from an intelligence sharing agreement with Japan. Meanwhile, Japan has dropped South Korea from its list of trusted trading partners, as reported by Reuters on August 25, 2019.
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