A South Korean journalist in Seoul warns that Japan should not make light of the recent series of tough actions taken by Seoul against Tokyo because they represent the beginning of a sharp turn in South Korea's policy toward Japan.
President Lee Myung Bak suddenly visited the disputed island of Takeshima (called Dokdo in South Korea) in the Sea of Japan, demanded that the Emperor of Japan "apologize" to the Koreans for what Japan did during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and refused to receive a letter from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda — all within the past few weeks.
South Korean presidents used to resort to actions designed to please South Korean citizens toward the end of their terms. In the case of Lee, he had no choice but to get tough with Japan because it is unlikely that he'll be able to leave his name in the history books as a South Korean president who met with the top North Korean leader.