This dilapidated Kyoto University dormitory, off Imadegawa Dori near Ginkakuji and Kyoto University's Center for Informatics in East Asian Studies, has been the center of a row between Japan, Taiwan and mainland China over ownership of the building. Japan's changing post-war diplomatic relations with both Taiwan and the PRC are at the heart of the issue.
The facility is known as the Guanghualiao dormitory (Kokaryo) and the argument over its ownership is the longest-running civil case before the Japanese courts. The building was rented in the pre-war period by Kyoto Imperial University for use by Chinese students and purchased in 1945 by the Republic of Taiwan, but problems over ownership began in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution in China.
Now the Guanghualiao Dormitory looks deserted as the case drags out before the judges.
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