October 23, 2013
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake. In the wake of the quake, a lot of Koreans were killed in the Tokyo metropolitan area as a result of groundless rumors spread by the Imperial government.
A Japanese lawyer points out that the fact that successive governments have been reluctant to admit to responsibility for the incident has helped lead to the recent hate speeches in Japan. Lawyer Yonekura Tsutomu contributed an essay to Akahata as follows (excerpt):
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) in 2003 submitted to the administration a recommendation report about the massacre following the quake. As a member of the investigation team of the JFBA, I had been involved in drawing up the report.
The report noted that the massacre of Koreans in Japan was brought about by misinformation provided by the government. It urged the then Koizumi Jun’ichiro Cabinet to accept government responsibility for the incident and sincerely apologize to victims and their bereaved families.
The slaughter of Koreans occurred in September 1923, during Japan’s violent rule of the Korean Peninsula. Following the massive earthquake, rumors spread of lawless acts by Koreans, including setting fire to houses, possessing bombs, and throwing poison into wells. Later, various historical materials, including official documents, proved that these rumors were all fabricated by government officials.
Until then, Japan’s security authorities had oppressed the Koreans and Chinese who resisted its colonial rule. The security agency of the Home Ministry deliberately circulated the false information across the country for fear that the resistance movement would grow in the confusion following the disaster. The number of victims of the bloodbath is believed to be in the thousands, including those who were directly killed by military forces.
Since the massacre took place, every Japanese government has refused to admit to any responsibility for the mass murder. I think this has fermented a perverse social consciousness that tolerates discrimination and persecution of different ethnicities and races in this country.
Hate speech demonstrations against Koreans in Japan have recently escalated in Tokyo and Osaka, in which the demonstrators are shouting, “Kill them!” Marking the 90th year of the tragedy, we need to look back on the 1923 incident and make further efforts to improve people’s awareness.
A Japanese lawyer points out that the fact that successive governments have been reluctant to admit to responsibility for the incident has helped lead to the recent hate speeches in Japan. Lawyer Yonekura Tsutomu contributed an essay to Akahata as follows (excerpt):
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) in 2003 submitted to the administration a recommendation report about the massacre following the quake. As a member of the investigation team of the JFBA, I had been involved in drawing up the report.
The report noted that the massacre of Koreans in Japan was brought about by misinformation provided by the government. It urged the then Koizumi Jun’ichiro Cabinet to accept government responsibility for the incident and sincerely apologize to victims and their bereaved families.
The slaughter of Koreans occurred in September 1923, during Japan’s violent rule of the Korean Peninsula. Following the massive earthquake, rumors spread of lawless acts by Koreans, including setting fire to houses, possessing bombs, and throwing poison into wells. Later, various historical materials, including official documents, proved that these rumors were all fabricated by government officials.
Until then, Japan’s security authorities had oppressed the Koreans and Chinese who resisted its colonial rule. The security agency of the Home Ministry deliberately circulated the false information across the country for fear that the resistance movement would grow in the confusion following the disaster. The number of victims of the bloodbath is believed to be in the thousands, including those who were directly killed by military forces.
Since the massacre took place, every Japanese government has refused to admit to any responsibility for the mass murder. I think this has fermented a perverse social consciousness that tolerates discrimination and persecution of different ethnicities and races in this country.
Hate speech demonstrations against Koreans in Japan have recently escalated in Tokyo and Osaka, in which the demonstrators are shouting, “Kill them!” Marking the 90th year of the tragedy, we need to look back on the 1923 incident and make further efforts to improve people’s awareness.
