Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and South Korean Ambassador to Japan Choi Sang Yong agreed Wednesday that an apology issued in 1995 by then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama should be the basis for resolving the issue of a controversial Japanese history textbook.
Choi said he believes Japan and South Korea can overcome their differences on the textbook issue if they conduct a dialogue based on the spirit of the 1995 Murayama statement and the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, a ministry official said. "In South Korea, people are concerned that recent moves in Japan are going against this spirit. The situation in South Korea is very severe, and the president (Kim Dae Jung) is also having a hard time dealing with it," Choi was quoted as saying.
Tanaka concurred, adding that carrying out what was mentioned in Murayama's statement is the only way to prove its truth, according to the official.