Compiled from wire reports SEOUL -- The South Korean government imposed a permanent entry ban Friday on 25 Japanese accused of civilian massacres and abuses during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
It is the first time South Korea has taken such a measure since the country amended its immigration laws in 1997 to pave the way for bans against Japanese accused of war crimes.
The move comes amid rows over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious visit Monday to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine and a Japanese history textbook that critics say attempts to justify Japan's wartime past.