The publisher of Kojien, the most authoritative dictionary in Japan, has been stuck between a rock and a hard place over its definition of Taiwan as a province of China, prompting a request for a correction from the self-ruled island.
Since its first publication in 1955, the dictionary has become a household name. The media and other organizations often use it to get the final say on a word's meaning. The seventh edition is slated to be released next month.
On Friday, Iwanami Shoten, the publisher, said Kojien's entry on Taiwan is in line with the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique, in which Japan recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and "fully understands and respects" the PRC's stance that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory.