TOKYO: Japan will delay the release of an annual defense white paper to avoid angering South Korea over a territorial row, ahead of the centennial of Japan`s rule of Korea, reports said Wednesday.

The rare decision reflects Tokyo`s eagerness to avoid any action that could provoke South Korean protests ahead of the August 29 anniversary of Japan`s annexation of the Korean Peninsula, Kyodo News said.

The annual white paper, which was set to be released Friday, routinely includes a passage saying Japan and South Korea have an unresolved territorial dispute over small islands called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

Japan says the South Korea-controlled islands in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, are an "inherent part of the territory of Japan," routinely angering Seoul, which also claims the islands.

Tokyo officials have reportedly expressed concern that anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea may intensify this year as Seoul commemorates the anniversary of Japan`s annexation of Korea in 1910, which led to a brutal occupation that ended on Japan`s defeat in World War II.

Japan`s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku has decided to delay the release of the annual white paper, according to major media including the liberal Asahi Shimbun and the conservative Sankei Shimbun.

The South Korean government had asked Japan to drop a description of the disputed islands as Japan`s own from this year`s white paper, Kyodo said, citing unnamed sources.

But Japan will not delete its claim to the islets from the white paper, even if it delays publication to September, it said.

The decision however could spark criticism from Japanese conservatives who would see such a move as weak-kneed diplomacy, Kyodo said.

The government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan was mulling issuing a special statement about the anniversary, the Asahi said.


BDST: 1008 HRS, July 28, 2010