Japan Press Weekly

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2014 November 12 - 18 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Citizens file lawsuit to protect monument to Korean victims of Japan’s forced labor

A citizens’ group in Gunma Prefecture on November 13 filed with the Maebashi District Court a lawsuit demanding that the prefecture withdraw its request to remove the statue commemorating Korean victims of Japan’s forced labor policy during the war.

The group put up the statue in 2004 in a prefecture-owned park in Gunma’s Takasaki City by obtaining prefectural permission which requires renewal every ten years.

The prefectural government this year decided to terminate the permission with the expiration of the prescribed term and urge the group to remove the statue as soon as possible after the date of expiration. As the reason for this, the prefecture cited that political remarks in the group’s annual event in front of the statue violate the conditions granting permission.

At a press conference after the filing, the group criticized the prefecture’s arbitrary decision as an infringement on freedom of expression and as unconstitutional. It expressed its determination to fight to protect the statue.

Past related article:
> What lies ahead of local governments’ moves to obliterate traces of Japan’s abusive acts during war? [September 3, 2014]