Japan apologises to S Korea

SEOUL, OCT 8: South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung praised Japan's courage in re-evaluating its colonial past in Korea, ahead of an apolog...

SEOUL, OCT 8: South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung praised Japan’s courage in re-evaluating its colonial past in Korea, ahead of an apology made on Thursday by Japan’s Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

“It’s too early to talk about the outcome of the summit, but I believe that Japan is showing courage by looking at the past in the face and in expressing remorse and apologies,” he said late Wednesday. Kim spoke to South Korean journalists travelling with him on his maiden state visit to Japan as Obuchi prepared to release Japan’s strongest apology for its rule here.

The president had, before leaving for Japan, called on Tokyo to “clearly admit to its past wrong-doings and apologise”. Emperor Akihito late Wednesday expressed “deep sorrow” for the suffering inflicted by Japan on the Korean peninsula.

Story continues below this ad

On Thursday, Obuchi expressed “deep remorse” to Kim in the first written government apology for the “tremendous” suffering inflicted on Korea by Japan’s colonial rule.

In the past, Japanese leaders havedealt with the issue by using more vague terms, including its conduct in “Asia as a whole” while not specifically mentioning Korea, the reports here said.

In addition, unlike the apology expected in a joint declaration on Thursday, other Japanese expressions of regret have come in speeches by the prime minister or emperor, and not in a written statement.

Kim said he hoped such an apology would help put the pasts of the two nations behind them and help them look forward to a closer relationship in the 21st century.