Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 20 - 26 [FOREIGN POLICY]

JCP Kasai hopes for early transfer of ‘Uigwe’ back to Korea

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kasai Akira on April 22 expressed his expectations in regard to an early delivery of the collection of Korean royal protocols to South Korea, which Japan had taken out of the Korean Peninsula during Japan’s colonial rule.

At the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on this day, the lawmakers confirmed the approval of the Japan-South Korea agreement to transfer the precious documents brought from the Korean Peninsula back to South Korea.

Kasai said that the collection of Korean royal protocols or the Chosen Oushitsu Gigi (Joseon Wangsil Uigwe) is “an important cultural asset regarding the historical identity of Koreans.”

Foreign Minister Matsumoto Takeaki said that the agreement is aimed at improving relations between both countries and that the transfer of the Chosen Oushitsu Gigi “will help to foster relations between both peoples.”

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On the same day, a special committee meeting took place in the House of Representatives to discuss the abduction issue of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents.

JCP Kasai stressed the need to work “through the framework of Six-Party Talks to put the Japan-DPRK Declaration into practice and to settle pending issues, including the abduction issue that continues to exist between Japan and North Korea.”