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167264
Thu, 03/10/2011 - 17:52
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https://www.oananews.org//node/167264
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DPJ member under fire for backing S. Korea over disputed islets
TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo - A Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker, who has close ties with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, came under heavy fire Thursday from opposition parties for signing a document that sides with South Korea on the question of the sovereignty of islets that Japan and its neighbor each claim as their own.
Kan, already exposed to many attacks from the opposition camp, responded swiftly to stress that DPJ lawmaker Ryuichi Doi's signing late last month of the declaration contradicts the government's stance on the islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.
Kan told a parliament session that the signing of the declaration that calls for Japan to immediately give up its sovereignty claims over the South Korean-controlled islets is ''very regrettable.''
But opposition parties were far from satisfied with the DPJ's response. The Liberal Democratic Party was in agreement that Doi's act cannot be tolerated and that it will step up its criticism of the ruling party, headed by Kan.
Itsunori Onodera, head of the main opposition party's foreign affairs division, told reporters that Doi should step down as chairman of the lower chamber's ethics panel and called into question his quality as a Diet member.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the No. 2 opposition New Komeito party, told a party meeting that Doi's signing of the document was ''extremely improper and could not be ignored.''
Yamaguchi urged Kan to take responsibility for the matter, noting that Doi belongs to an intraparty group of lawmakers loyal to the prime minister.
Doi held a news conference in the afternoon to apologize to the public and said that he would resign as chairman of the House of Representatives' ethics panel and from a senior post on the DPJ's Standing Officers Council. But he denied any possibility that he would resign as a parliamentarian.
Doi said he had not sufficiently checked the substance of the statement, adding that for a politician his behavior had been ''careless.'' Doi also said he believes that Takeshima is an integral part of Japan.
Kan told reporters in the evening, ''I believe he took responsibility by quitting all senior posts.'' ''I hope he learns a lesson.''
Doi signed the joint declaration during a one-day visit to South Korea for an exchange among Christian-affiliated lawmakers on Feb. 27, when a memorial event for an independence movement in 1919 against Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula took place.
In Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture, off which the islets are located, Gov. Zembei Mizoguchi released a statement, urging the lawmaker to explain why he took such action.
Japan insists that Takeshima, which consists of two small uninhabited islets and numerous reefs with a total land area of 230,000 square meters, is part of the prefecture, while South Korea claims the islands are part of North Gyeongsang Province.
The top government spokesman Yukio Edano, speaking at a news conference, said Japan's stance on Takeshima remains ''completely unaffected'' by Doi's act.
Kan, already exposed to many attacks from the opposition camp, responded swiftly to stress that DPJ lawmaker Ryuichi Doi's signing late last month of the declaration contradicts the government's stance on the islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.
Kan told a parliament session that the signing of the declaration that calls for Japan to immediately give up its sovereignty claims over the South Korean-controlled islets is ''very regrettable.''
But opposition parties were far from satisfied with the DPJ's response. The Liberal Democratic Party was in agreement that Doi's act cannot be tolerated and that it will step up its criticism of the ruling party, headed by Kan.
Itsunori Onodera, head of the main opposition party's foreign affairs division, told reporters that Doi should step down as chairman of the lower chamber's ethics panel and called into question his quality as a Diet member.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the No. 2 opposition New Komeito party, told a party meeting that Doi's signing of the document was ''extremely improper and could not be ignored.''
Yamaguchi urged Kan to take responsibility for the matter, noting that Doi belongs to an intraparty group of lawmakers loyal to the prime minister.
Doi held a news conference in the afternoon to apologize to the public and said that he would resign as chairman of the House of Representatives' ethics panel and from a senior post on the DPJ's Standing Officers Council. But he denied any possibility that he would resign as a parliamentarian.
Doi said he had not sufficiently checked the substance of the statement, adding that for a politician his behavior had been ''careless.'' Doi also said he believes that Takeshima is an integral part of Japan.
Kan told reporters in the evening, ''I believe he took responsibility by quitting all senior posts.'' ''I hope he learns a lesson.''
Doi signed the joint declaration during a one-day visit to South Korea for an exchange among Christian-affiliated lawmakers on Feb. 27, when a memorial event for an independence movement in 1919 against Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula took place.
In Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture, off which the islets are located, Gov. Zembei Mizoguchi released a statement, urging the lawmaker to explain why he took such action.
Japan insists that Takeshima, which consists of two small uninhabited islets and numerous reefs with a total land area of 230,000 square meters, is part of the prefecture, while South Korea claims the islands are part of North Gyeongsang Province.
The top government spokesman Yukio Edano, speaking at a news conference, said Japan's stance on Takeshima remains ''completely unaffected'' by Doi's act.
