August 16, 2024

The Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) on August 15 held the Gwangbokjeol (return to the light) ceremony in Tokyo to commemorate the 79th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Mindan President Kim Yi-joong in his speech at the ceremony referred to the adverse revision of the Immigration Control Act in the last ordinary Diet session to introduce a system that will allow the revocation of permanent residency status of non-Japanese residents in the event of failure to pay taxes and social insurance premiums on time or making minor missteps such as forgetting to carry a resident card. Kim pointed out that many foreign residents who hold the permanent resident status along with their family members could be pushed out of the society due to unforeseen circumstances beyond their control. He demanded that the newly-introduced system be removed.

The message from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was read out by newly appointed Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-Hee.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira and representatives of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party, and the Komei Party delivered speeches as guests.

Stating that 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, Koike pointed out that in order to establish peaceful, friendly, and cooperative ties with Asian neighbors, the need is for Japan to demonstrate its sincere remorse over its past wartime aggression and colonial rule. Koike said that historical revisionists’ moves to glorify Japan’s past war of aggression must be prohibited.

Koike criticized the adversely revised Immigration Control Act allowing the revocation of the permanent resident status of foreign residents for minor infractions as a case of serious discrimination against foreigners, and said, “Such a measure may cause undue anxieties in the daily lives of permanent foreign residents in Japan and may destabilize the status of foreign residents as a whole.” He expressed his determination to work hard to remove the discriminatory system from the law.

Koike exchanged greetings with the Mindan president and the ambassador.

Past related article:
> Motomura opposes a proposed stipulation revoking permanent residency [May 9, 2024]