Virginia House OKs textbook change in win for South Korea

Virginia's state legislature approved on Thursday a bill requiring school textbooks to include the Korean name for the sea between Japan and South Korea in a major win for Seoul.

The two key US allies, battling renewed tensions dating from Japan's imperial period, fought a proxy battle over the textbook change, with their respective ambassadors repeatedly visiting the Southern state's capital Richmond.

Korean-American activists gained the upper hand in their effort to address historical grievances with Japan - that rouse deep passions in South Korea - at the local level in the United States.

The Virginia House of Delegates voted 81-15 to approve the measure requiring "that all textbooks approved by the Board of Education (after July 1, 2014) when referring to the Sea of Japan, shall note that it is also referred to as the East Sea".

The bill, which has already cleared the US Senate, now awaits the signature of Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, who is widely expected to sign it into law.

In Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, told reporters that Virginia's move was "extremely regrettable".

"The Sea of Japan is the only internationally recognized name, which the US government also supports. We will continue explaining Japan's position in an effort to promote the correct understanding among the international community," he said.

The South Korean government, which had enthusiastically supported the bill, welcomed its passage.

"This is the result of efforts by our compatriots in the US to make the name of the East Sea used more widely and we highly appreciate it," said foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young.

Japanese government hired a team of lobbyists to defend its position and had stressed that "Sea of Japan" was the only name for the body of water that was recognized by the United Nations and the International Hydrographic Organization.

"Sea of Japan" was already in common usage in the international community in the early 19th century, when the country had an isolationist policy and prior to Japanese colonial rule.

Koreans say the name is a legacy of Japanese colonialism and prefer to use "East Sea".

(China Daily 02/08/2014 page7)