September 2, 2024

Japanese Communist Party Secretariate Head Koike Akira (Upper House) and JCP Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblyperson Izumi Naomi on September 1, the 101st anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake, attended a ceremony with approximately 290 attendees to commemorate Korean martyrs in the 1923 massacre.

At the ceremony in Tokyo held by the Central Head Office of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) and sponsored by the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo, Koike and Izumi offered flowers in memory of the Korean victims.

After the ceremony, the two JCP lawmakers along with several other Japanese politicians took part in a luncheon with Korean Ambassador Park Cheol-hee.

Koike said, “What actually happened regarding the massacre of Koreans by violent mobs of vigilantes in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake should be brought to the light of day.” Park responded, “I hope you will work on this in a bipartisan manner.

1923 massacre of Koreans

On September 1 of 1923, a major quake hit the Kanto region, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths. Later, groundless rumors such as “Socialists and Koreans are setting fires” spread around the city of Tokyo and vigilante organizations were formed across the region, resulting in the killings of a large number of innocent Koreans. It is said that several thousand Koreans were killed. However, the exact figure is still unknown.