South Korea’s academic circle expressed disappointment with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Tuesday apology for Japan’s colonial rule of Korea.

A number of scholars, including President of Yuhan University Kim Young-ho, said the statement failed to address a number of key issues.

The issues include an absence of Tokyo’s acknowledgement that the 1910 treaty that sealed Japan’s takeover of Korea was illegal. In addition, they said the statement made no mention of sexual slavery or the conscription of Koreans into Japan’s military and workforce.

They did, however note that the Japanese government’s promise to return ancient Korean royal texts stolen by colonial Japan as a significant step.

The Venerable Hyemun, who is the secretary general of a committee dedicated to bringing back ancient Korean royal books stolen by colonial Japan, hailed the statement as meaningful. He said it proclaimed Japan’s willingness to return soon the ancient books and cultural assets Japan took from the Korean Peninsula during the colonial period.