Asia-Pacific

Japan to return ancient relics to ROK

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-27 19:29

TOKYO - The Japanese parliament on Friday endorsed an agreement to transfer ancient texts to the Republic of Korea (ROK) which were taken during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The historical cultural assets, comprising 1,205 volumes of archives including the Joseon Wangsil Uigwe, a detailed record of royal ceremonies and rituals, itself consisting of 167 volumes, will likely be transferred when South Korean President Lee Myung Bak visits Japan in autumn this year.

The bill was ratified on Friday by a vote of 145-86 and the transfer of the archives is based on a bilateral accord signed in November following a pledge by Prime Minister Naoto Kan last August upon the centenary of Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.

The returning of the relics is largely seen as an act of goodwill by Japan and is considered by lawmakers from both countries as a key step in improving bilateral ties, particularly in light of recent territorial issues between the two countries.

However, Japan purposefully avoid using the word "return" in the accord signed last year and will maintain digital copies of the relics.

Over the years, ROK lawmakers have vociferously petitioned Tokyo to return the ancient artifacts that were registered with the UNESCO's Memory of the World registry in 2007.

The historic artifacts are believed to have been taken by the Japanese colonial government from a Korean Buddhist temple in 1922, but Tokyo has persistently said that when relations between the two countries were normalized in 1965, Seoul relinquished its right to reclaim the documents, which have since been kept at Japan's Imperial Household Agency.

The new bill sanctioning the transferring of the documents will come into effect next Tuesday following a Cabinet meeting, Japanese lawmakers said.