While the North Korean nuclear crisis continues to dominate Western media coverage of Northeast Asia, regional media are more likely to focus on the events of past decades, centuries, and even millennia.
Historical conflicts and grievances have resurfaced between China, Korea, and Japan to the extent that serious diplomatic rows have erupted and Japan may end up not receiving its coveted seat as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo are particularly strained.
Since April 9th images have been sent out to the world of rioting Chinese, destroying business fronts owned by Japanese. The Japanese Embassy and consulates were attacked by stone-throwing protesters, as were Japanese-owned banks, a department store, and even restaurants. Rioters on television chant their supposed "hatred" of the Japanese. The cause of this wave of anti-Japanese protests spreading across China being the Japanese Education Ministry approving a textbook critics say whitewashes the history of Japan’s invasion of China in the 1930s.
To cap matters, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on a visit to India said on April 13th that Japan would not be ready to have a seat on the United Nations Security Council until it fully acknowledged its militaristic past. Japan, meanwhile, has issued official protests alleging that the Chinese government has not done enough to quell the recent wave of anti-Japanese violence.
Instead, China´s Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing declined Sunday to apologize for the protests and claimed the feelings of the Chinese "have been hurt."
Koreans, who experienced Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, have for years had similar complaints a
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