标签： Asia

Diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Japan have reignited after Tokyo approved a new batch of high school textbooks containing disputed territorial claims and whitewashed accounts of Japanese World War II imperial atrocities, drawing sharp condemnation from Seoul. In an official statement released March 24, South Korea’s Ministry of Education voiced deep regret over the decision by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to greenlight textbooks that advance what Seoul calls ‘historical distortions’ rooted in Tokyo’s self-serving national narrative, and issued a strong call for immediate rectification.

South Korean authorities specifically flagged two key categories of problematic content in the approved textbooks. First, the materials reiterate Japan’s long-disputed claim of full territorial sovereignty over the Dokdo islets, a group of small rocky outcrops in the Sea of Japan that have been under South Korean administrative control for decades, and falsely characterize South Korea’s presence as ‘illegal occupation’. Second, the texts systematically downplay or erase documented wartime crimes committed by Imperial Japan, including the systematic forced mobilization of Korean laborers and the institutionalized sexual enslavement of so-called ‘comfort women’ during WWII.

The condemnation extended beyond the education sector: South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly summoned Hirotaka Matsuo, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to formally register the country’s official protest against the textbook approval.

The approved textbooks are slated for introduction in Japanese high schools starting in the 2027 academic year, covering core subjects including Japanese history, world history, geography and civics. According to existing reports, the content of the new batch largely mirrors the controversial textbooks approved by Tokyo four years prior, which already included Japan’s territorial claim to Dokdo. For context, a 2021-approved textbook from major Japanese publisher Teikoku Shoin explicitly stated that ‘Takeshima’ — Japan’s name for Dokdo — is Japan’s inherent territory, claiming the islands were legally incorporated into Shimane Prefecture after a 1905 Japanese declaration, and repeated the false claim that South Korea occupies the territory illegally. When publisher Ninomiya Shoten submitted its new textbooks for official screening last year, it retained the same ‘illegal occupation’ language, and the Japanese screening panel raised no objections to the content.

Japanese domestic media has noted that descriptions aligning with the Japanese government’s official positions on both territorial disputes and modern historical narratives have become fully normalized in approved textbooks, with no need for additional screening adjustments from regulators. This systemic alignment is no accident: Tokyo has embedded its preferred narrative into the national education system through a three-layered content control system that starts with binding national curriculum guidelines — the highest governing principle for textbook content — followed by official commentary on the guidelines and a final centralized screening process.

Over the past decade, this system has increasingly enabled the erasure of accountability for wartime crimes. Textbook descriptions have gradually removed language acknowledging coercion in wartime labor mobilization and the sexual enslavement of comfort women. In a 2021 parliamentary written response, the Japanese government declared that terms such as ‘taken away’ or ‘forcibly taken away’ to describe the displacement of Korean forced laborers were inappropriate, and mandated the use of the neutral-sounding term ‘mobilized’ instead. Since that policy change, the explicit language acknowledging forced coercion has been entirely removed from approved Japanese high school textbooks.

In its statement, South Korea’s education ministry reaffirmed the country’s commitment to its long-term goal, as outlined by South Korea’s president in a speech marking the anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, of building ‘an amiable new world based on true understanding and empathy between the two countries’. The ministry added that building lasting peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia requires the Japanese government to adopt a responsible stance toward its historical legacy, a standard that Tokyo has yet to meet with the latest textbook approval.

This report, sourced from South Korea’s *The Korea Herald*, is part of a weekly Asia-focused collaboration from the Asia News Network, a regional grouping of 20 leading Asian media outlets including China Daily.

BEIJING, April 8, 2026 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang has officially signed a State Council decree to promulgate a landmark set of new regulations focused on reinforcing national industrial and supply chain security, a policy framework set to take effect immediately upon its release.

Comprising 18 distinct articles, the new regulatory regime is crafted to address growing global and domestic risks that threaten the stability of China’s production and distribution networks. Its core objectives are threefold: pre-emptively mitigate systemic security risks across industrial and supply chains, boost the overall resilience and reliability of these critical networks, and protect national economic and social stability as well as core national security interests.

The regulations lay out clear guiding principles for future work in this sector. Among these guiding tenets is a commitment to supporting the stable, unimpeded operation of global industrial and supply chains, alongside targeted backing for core technology research and development in strategically important key industries.

To turn these principles into actionable policy, the regulatory text updates and formalizes institutional mechanisms designed to guarantee steady production, unobstructed circulation, and continuous operations for raw materials, core technologies, critical equipment, and finished goods across key industrial sectors.

A key new provision laid out in the regulations is the establishment of a formal security investigation mechanism for industrial and supply chain issues. Under this framework, relevant Chinese regulatory authorities are authorized to launch official investigations and implement targeted countermeasures against any foreign country, region, international organization, or foreign entity or individual that engages in activities undermining China’s industrial and supply chain security.

The policy comes amid growing global volatility in cross-border supply chains, driven by geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, and shifting global production patterns, making strengthened domestic resilience a priority for economic policymakers across major economies.

Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump drew global condemnation for issuing an unprecedented genocidal threat against Iran, warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” the American leader announced a last-minute two-week suspension of military operations, contingent on Iran lifting its blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Citing an anonymous senior White House source, CNN confirmed that Israel — which has partnered with the U.S. in bombing Iranian targets including civilian infrastructure since the war began on February 28 — will also participate in the ceasefire, pausing its aerial campaign while negotiators work toward a long-term deal.

International diplomatic efforts paved the way for the truce: according to The Associated Press, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed its acceptance of the ceasefire in an official statement. New York Times correspondent Farnaz Fassihi later reported that the breakthrough followed frantic shuttle diplomacy led by Pakistan, with a final late-stage intervention from China, a long-standing major ally of Tehran.

In its statement, the Iranian security council stressed the temporary nature of the pause in hostilities, noting: “This does not signify the termination of the war. Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force.”

Trump made his ceasefire announcement via his Truth Social platform, as widespread global outrage mounted over his apocalyptic morning comments, including growing demands for his removal from office, and just hours before his self-imposed 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time deadline for Iran to reopen the critical global waterway to all commercial shipping traffic.

In his official statement, Trump outlined that the ceasefire came at the request of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s top military leader Field Marshal Asim Munir. “Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” he wrote.

The U.S. president framed the pause as a reflection of progress toward a lasting peace deal, adding: “The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated. On behalf of the United States of America, as President, and also representing the Countries of the Middle East, it is an Honor to have this Longterm problem close to resolution.”

Despite the breakthrough, analysts warn that Iran’s 10-point peace framework is likely to face fierce pushback from Israel and Gulf Arab monarchies, which have been targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military offensive. U.S. political commentator and lawyer Will Stancil noted on social platform Bluesky that regional stakeholders who have heavily backed Trump are unlikely to accept the terms. “It’s hard to see how anyone else in the region could possibly agree to this,” he said, adding with sharp criticism that it would be ironic if the Gulf states that have poured billions into supporting Trump now face fallout from his last-minute policy shift mid-war to claim a political victory.

Trump’s extreme threats — including vows to destroy Iran’s civilian bridges and power plants, classified as clear war crimes under international law, and his public threat to erase “whole civilization” of Iran — prompted urgent calls from global human rights advocates and political leaders for the United Nations and national governments to intervene immediately to de-escalate the conflict.

While the ceasefire has been broadly welcomed as a step away from all-out war, some observers have pointed out that Iran’s existing government, which has faced international criticism for its violent crackdown on domestic anti-government protests that left thousands dead, is well-positioned to emerge from the truce claiming a domestic political victory, a narrative already being pushed by Iranian state media.

Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at the NGO Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), argued that the ceasefire terms amount to a major strategic defeat for the U.S. and Israel. “A ceasefire is welcome, but if the terms Iran announced tonight are accurate, the United States and Israel are facing a truly humiliating defeat,” Jarrar told Common Dreams. “They launched a catastrophic war of aggression that killed thousands of civilians, wasted tens of billions of dollars, and triggered the worst global energy crisis in half a century. Iran kept its enrichment. Iran took over the Strait [of Hormuz]. The United States agreed to lift sanctions and pay reparations.”

Skepticism over the ceasefire has also emerged from U.S. political opposition circles. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told CNN that he questions whether the truce is actually holding, citing ongoing reports of Iranian missile strikes targeting Israel and the United Arab Emirates. “Who knows what’s going on,” Murphy said. “Donald Trump lies every single day.”

Murphy also highlighted Iran’s public claims that the deal includes U.S. concessions on key sticking points, including recognition of Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment, a full suspension of U.S. sanctions on Tehran, and allowing Iran to retain its ballistic missile, drone, and nuclear programs. “If, at the very least, this agreement gives Iran the right to control the strait that is cataclysmic for the world, and it is just stunning that that’s where we have gotten to that Donald Trump took a military action that has apparently, at least for the time being, given Iran control over a critical waterway that they did not have control over, before the war began,” Murphy added.

Critics of Trump, including multiple members of the U.S. Congress, have doubled down on calls for the president’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from office over his inflammatory threats and unconstitutional war. They have also reminded U.S. military service members of their legal obligation to refuse any orders that constitute war crimes under international and U.S. law.

This report was sourced from Common Dreams.