The National Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall in Tokyo, Japan, recently made a large-scale territorial puzzle and marked Dokdo in Japanese, causing controversy.
On the 10th, Sungshin Women’s University professor Seo Kyeong-duk posted on his Facebook page, “Amidst the increasingly blatant ambitions of Japan’s invasion of Dokdo, the National Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall located in Tokyo is at the center of it. Recently, on the SNS of the Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall, ‘There is a large territorial puzzle in the Kids Corner! I posted a photo with the caption, “Come visit me!”
“In the published photos, children can be seen standing in front of a territorial puzzle, and on one of them, a map of Dokdo is enlarged, and the names of the large islands that make up Dokdo, Dongdo and Seodo, are called Yeodo in Japanese, respectively. It is listed as a southern island,” he added.
This territorial sovereignty exhibition hall has recently been a subject of great controversy. A promotional video produced in 2021 has only recently become known, and in that video, a Japanese child tells his father, “There are places you cannot go to even in Japan, such as the Northern Territory or Takeshima (the name of Dokdo claimed by Japan).” .
After visiting the Territorial Sovereignty Exhibition Hall, the child’s mother tells the child, “I can’t go to the land that the Japanese cultivated and lived on now.” Her father also emphasizes again, “I can definitely go.”
It is analyzed that this was made to plant a false perception that Dokdo was developed and inhabited by the Japanese a long time ago. The Northern Territory mentioned along with Dokdo refers to the four southern islands of the Kuril Islands. It is now effectively controlled by Russia.
Regarding this, Professor Seo said, “It is no exaggeration to say that the Japanese government has been working on ‘indoctrination of children’ regarding Dokdo education for a long time. In 2021, the Ministry of Defense of Japan began publishing a defense white paper specialized for children for the first time, and from next year, all society and map textbooks used by Japanese elementary school students show that Dokdo is ‘Japan’s inherent territory’ and ‘Korea is illegally occupying it’. A far-fetched claim was made,” he pointed out.
Lastly, he said, “It is truly deplorable that Japanese children are receiving ‘brainwashing education’ with distorted information about Dokdo by their own government.” We plan to proceed with the ‘Dokdo Video Project for Children’ in the future. The first video will soon be released as a parody video that pinpoints the mistakes of the mother and son video produced by the Japan Territorial Sovereignty Museum.”
Meanwhile, the Territory and Sovereignty Exhibition Hall, which opened on a 100m2 scale in Hibiya Park, Tokyo in January 2018, was greatly expanded to 673m2 when it moved to Toranomon, Chiyoda-ku in January 2020. On the Korean website of the exhibition hall, there is a phrase that reads, “The Northern Territory, Takeshima, and the Senkaku Islands are inherently Japanese territories and have never been part of any other country.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.