Gulf seen between Japan, S. Korea over 'transfer' of cultural artifacts+

TOKYO, Aug. 15 Kyodo -
Despite Prime Minister Naoto Kan's promise last week to ''transfer'' to South
Korea artifacts originating from Korea, there are big differences in opinion
over the matter between the two countries which could become a new diplomatic
flashpoint, according to experts.
Kan issued a statement last Tuesday, in which he apologized for Japan's past
colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and promised to transfer archives
originating from the peninsula ''that were brought to Japan during the period
of Japan's rule through the Japanese colonial government of Korea'' and are
still kept by the government.
Based on the statement released ahead of the Aug. 29 centenary of Japan's
annexation of the peninsula, the government has begun arrangements for such a
transfer, including work to identify relevant artifacts, compile a list and
draft a treaty governing the matter, government sources said.
The archives to be handed over will include the Royal Protocols of the Joseon
Dynasty, but they are likely to be a ''small portion'' of the vast artifacts
kept in the country, one of the sources said.
That is because Tokyo takes the position that Seoul's right to claim them has
disappeared with the conclusion of an agreement in 1965 along with that of the
Treaty on Basic Relations which normalized ties between the two countries.
But in South Korea, people generally view such artifacts as having been stolen
by the Japanese during the colonization period, and calls are growing there for
the return of many of them, the experts said.
There exists a gap in perception between the governments of Japan and South
Korea, the former of which views the proposed transfer as a ''goodwill''
gesture, according to the sources.
In arranging the transfer, Tokyo plans to look into archives at the Imperial
Household Agency and other facilities, including the Tokyo National Museum,
according to sources familiar with the matter.
In the statement, Kan attached the additional condition that the archives to be
transferred to South Korea must be in possession of the Japanese government.
That was because ''privately held cultural artifacts, which amount to an
enormous number, would otherwise be subject to the handover,'' a senior Foreign
Ministry official said.
The Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty, called the Joseon Wangsil Uigwe, are
stored at the agency and consist of 167 volumes. Of those, 163 were moved from
the colonial government to the agency's forerunner body during the Taisho
period (1912-1926), with the remaining four volumes purchased from the private
sector.
South Korea's National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage says at least
61,000 cultural items were moved to Japan after the 1910 annexation of the
peninsula.
If mishandled, the matter could set off criticism from South Korea that Japan
is not being sincerely remorseful despite Kan's expression of ''deep remorse''
and ''heartfelt apology'' in the statement, observers say.
On the other hand, voices could arise within Japan that the government is
conceding too much if Japan decides to transfer more artifacts to South Korea
than people here consider appropriate, they say.
In an agreement forged in accessory to the 1965 treaty, Japan and South Korea
confirmed that in exchange for Tokyo's provision to Seoul of $300 million in
grants and $200 million in loans, problems concerning property, rights,
interests and claims between the two countries were settled ''completely and
finally.''
==Kyodo
2010-08-15 22:19:35