Despite Prime Minister Naoto Kan's promise last week to give back artifacts to South Korea taken from the Korean Peninsula during Japan's colonial rule, major differences on the matter between the two countries could lead to a new diplomatic flash point, experts say.
In Kan's statement Aug. 10 apologizing for Japan's 1910 annexation of Korea, he promised to "transfer" archives "that were brought to Japan during the period of Japan's rule through the Japanese colonial government of Korea" and are still in the hands of the government.
Based on the statement, released ahead of the Aug. 29 centennial of the start of Japan's colonial rule, the central government has begun arrangements for such a transfer, including identifying relevant artifacts and drafting a treaty governing the matter, sources said.