Japanese emperor breaks taboo, suggests mixed Korean bloodlines
March 12, 2002 9:44 PM   Subscribe

Japanese emperor breaks taboo, suggests mixed Korean bloodlines Ahead of the World Cup to be jointly hosted by awkward neighbors Japan and Korea, Emperor Akihito claimed a Korean ancestor in his annual birthday address in December. However, most major news outlets did not print or broadcast his comments.
posted by planetkyoto (3 comments total)
 
If you live here for a while, you come to feel the taboo protecting the Imperial Family. Ha! As I write this sentence, I can now hear the WWII martial music that comes from the black-painted, imperial-symbol festooned buses that occasionally sweep across the city, spouting ultra-right wing propaganda. Like in the Holy Land, the pressure from far right groups stymies reconciliation. Polls in South Korea consistently rank Japan as the most hated country, because of colonial rule in the prewar era.
posted by planetkyoto at 9:49 PM on March 12, 2002


Well, what with revisionist history books (Nanjing? Rape? I have no idea what you're talking about.), prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine (praise them kamikaze flyboys), and treatment of 3rd, 4th, 5th...umpteenth-generation Japanese of Korean ancestry as foreign residents, yeah, I suppose there might be a little resentment.

Fortunately, all that will be taken care of with the opening of the 2002 Korea-Japan (NOT Japan-Korea) FIFA World Cup! Heck, just check out them goodwill ambassadors. Enough to make me wanna quit fighting and start...er, oh nevermind.
posted by Bixby23 at 12:38 AM on March 13, 2002


A step in the right direction.
posted by keithl at 11:02 AM on March 13, 2002


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