Japan Press Weekly

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2020 August 5 - 11 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Tokyo gov’t approves use of metropolitan park for memorial service for Korean victims of 1923 massacre

The Tokyo Metropolitan government has decided to withdraw its request for the submission of a written pledge and to permit the use of a Tokyo park for the annual ceremony held for Koreans who were slaughtered amid widespread groundless rumors after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

This decision was made public by the organizing committee of the annual ceremony on August 3. The ceremony organizers also announced that the ceremony will be held on September 1 as usual in front of the monument in the metropolitan park in Sumida Ward with only a limited number of people participating in order to prevent the COVID-19 spread. The event will be broadcast live through streaming services.

The Tokyo government in December 2019 requested the organizing committee to submit a written pledge to avoid troubles with a hate-speech group as a condition for allowing the use of the park. Explaining the reason for this request, the Tokyo government, perhaps a hate-speech rally hosted by a right-wing extremist group close by in mind, expressed concern over the possibility of a clash between ceremony participants and right-wing nationalists.

In May of this year, in protest against the Tokyo government’s request, the organizing committee released a statement stating that it is unfair for the metropolitan government to juxtapose the memorial event and the hate-speech rally in the application of rules regarding the use of the park. Furthermore, a wide range of people raised voices of protest against such an unfair move as shown by the fact that 30,000 signatures collected online were submitted to the Tokyo government to demand unconditional permission to use the park for the memorial service.

Past related article:
> 30K signatures submitted for use of Tokyo park for memorial service for Korean victims of 1923 massacre [June 12, 2020]