Lee Jae-myung: "Japan's Dokdo Provocation Only Brings Misfortune to Itself"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, warned that Japan's government provocations over Dokdo will only bring misfortune upon itself and urged not to drive the Japanese people down a path of ruin.

On the 31st, Lee posted on Facebook an article titled "Japan Government's Provocation over Dokdo Will Only Bring Misfortune Upon Itself," stating, "Starting next year, Japanese high school social studies textbooks will include claims that 'Dokdo is Japan's inherent territory,'" adding, "It is said that many of these also include expressions that South Korea is illegally occupying Dokdo. It is truly deplorable that Japan's conservative right-wing is still trapped in the outdated militaristic delusions of the past era, and that the Japanese government is under the shadow of these conservatives."

He continued, "Japan is a geographically very close and economically very intimate neighboring country to us, but we cannot overlook acts that infringe upon the sovereignty and dignity of the Republic of Korea," and stated, "Our government will definitely respond with stronger measures to any provocations from the Japanese right-wing."

Furthermore, he said, "Acts that harm the friendly relations between the two countries are not desired by the wise majority of the Japanese people, and Japan's politicians are making their own citizens unhappy," criticizing, "In 2018, our Supreme Court confirmed the illegality of colonial rule, but the Japanese government responded with unreasonable trade retaliation against international law, which only brought about a decline in economic status and international isolation."

Lee added, "Japan, once the world's second-largest economy and one of the leaders in the international community, should reflect on why it continues to experience relentless decline," and warned, "If the Japanese government denies the past, distorts history, and brings about its own isolation, just as the lost decade became a lost 30 years, Japan will eventually fall into a developing country status at some point in the 21st century."

He also stated, "Without regaining trust in the international community and cooperation among East Asian countries, Japan's economic and national status recovery is impossible," and warned, "I hope the Japanese government's wrong decisions do not drive the entire Japanese people into the abyss of misfortune."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.