At a time when right-wing Japanese politicians are making reckless, history-distorting remarks on a daily basis, it is refreshing to hear that a group of Japanese intellectuals is visiting Korea to set history straight.

The group, consisting of three retired history professors and a Buddhist monk, held a news conference in Busan on Tuesday to rebut Tokyo’s claim to Dokdo and urge conservative Japanese politicians to face history squarely.

The four intellectuals are members of a volunteer group called “A Civic Group Protesting Takeshima.” As its name indicates, the group was created to campaign against the Tokyo government’s attempts to stake a claim to Dokdo. Takeshima is the Japanese name for Korea’s easternmost islets.

At the news conference, the Japanese historians stressed the need to see Tokyo’s claim to Dokdo for what it is ― an expression of Japan’s deep-rooted territorial expansionism.

Japan annexed Dokdo in 1905 to position itself favorably in its war against Russia. The memory of this illegal seizure of the islets a century ago is still at work, shaping Tokyo’s approach to Dokdo.

But as the historians point out, approaching the Dokdo issue from a territorial perspective is bound to lead Tokyo to take a hostile stance toward Seoul and glorify Japan’s aggression against Korea.

They note that Shimane prefecture’s designation of Takeshima Day is a clear indication of the influence that territorial expansionism holds over Japanese leaders. In this regard, they urge the Tokyo government to reconsider commemorating the day.

At the same time, they argued that Dokdo should be seen as a historical issue, not a territorial one.

To prove that Tokyo’s claim to Dokdo is groundless, they brought two old Japanese maps, which were produced in 1775 and 1875. The maps clearly show that the Japanese government at the time regarded Dokdo as Korean territory.

The historians’ explanation of the background for Japan’s stance on Dokdo is nothing new. But they deserve praise for their courage and efforts to set history straight and guide their country in the right direction.

These days, many ultraconservative Japanese politicians have no qualms about making provocative comments. The latest example is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement that the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is not much different from the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

The comment shows that the Japanese leader lacks the awareness that Japan committed war crimes by waging wars of aggression for territorial aggrandizement in the first half of the 20th century.