Rising Sun Flag

[Anchor Lead]

Japan is pushing ahead with its plan to decorate its warships with the Rising Sun flag at an international fleet review to be held in Jeju next week. At a regular rally supporting Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery on Wednesday, some thousand people strongly protested against the use of the Rising Sun flag, which is seen as a symbol of Japanese militarism.

[Pkg]

A regular weekly rally calling for resolving the issue of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement was held on Wednesday, which marked Korea's National Foundation Day, a public holiday. This was the 1,355th of the so-called Wednesday Demonstration, which began more than 26 years ago. About a thousand people, including middle and high school students as well as former Korean sex slaves, participated in yesterday's rally.

[Soundbite] Kim Bok-dong(Former Sexual Slave) : "Japan used the Rising Sun flag during the war. How on earth can they come to Korea with the flag hoisted. They should not be accepted if they fly the flag."

The South Korean Navy requested 14 participating countries to hoist only their national flags and the South Korean flag during the international fleet review. The Foreign Ministry also asked Tokyo to take into account Korean people's sentiment. However, Japan has given no clear response. Japan's Self-Defense warships flew the Rising Sun flag when entering Busan port in 1996, inflaming public sentiment here. Petitions have been filed calling for blocking Japanese warships from entering Jeju or even canceling Japan's invitation. Opposition to the use of the Rising Sun flag is intensifying in Jeju, which is still left with vivid wounds of forced conscription by Japan. The government, however, explains that the review is an international event and there is no way to block the use of the Rising Sun flag if Japan stands firm. This is why support is growing for the parliamentary passage of a proposed bill prohibiting Japan from using the Rising Sun and other symbols of aggression and militarism, as Germany does. The South Korean military and foreign affairs authorities are planning to wait for Japan's response.