Opposition member of the Cabinet Committee of the House of Councilors asks about ‘document amnesty for Korean massacre perpetrators’
Acknowledges the existence of the document, but does not know “I cannot understand the content beyond what is stated.”

The Japanese government has repeatedly stated that it is difficult to establish facts related to the massacre of Koreans that occurred immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake.

According to the Asahi Shimbun and Tokyo Shimbun on the 10th, at the Cabinet Committee of the House of Councilors held the previous day, Rep. Noriko Ishigaki (石垣のりこ), a member of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, asked about a document related to the amnesty dated January 21, 1924, held by the National Archives.

This Cabinet decision document, written about four months after the Great Kanto Earthquake, contains the decision to pardon the perpetrators of the massacre of Koreans that occurred immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake.

The document states that “during the chaos during the Great Kanto Earthquake, a special pardon procedure was proposed for those who believed rumors that Koreans had committed crimes (such as poisoning wells) and, as a result, mistakenly committed acts of murder in self-defense.” The intent to take was clearly stated.

National Public Security Commission Chairman Yoshifumi Matsumura acknowledged the existence of the document, but did not acknowledge the massacre, saying, “It is difficult to say anything definitive about the facts.”

When Rep. Ishigaki asked, “Aren’t the contents of the (document) a document showing the fact of a massacre?” National Public Security Committee Chairman Matsumura refused to acknowledge the fact of the massacre, saying, “There is a document of the cabinet decision that you pointed out, but we cannot understand the contents beyond what is stated.” .

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno pointed out that the document in question held by the National Archives is a “specific historical document transferred after the expiration of the retention period,” and that the National Archives is an independent administrative corporation, and asked whether it was a government document. He said it was difficult.

The Japanese government has not acknowledged the massacre of Koreans immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Last August, Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno said of the Great Kanto Earthquake massacre of Koreans, “If we limit ourselves to the (Japanese government’s) investigation, we have not found any records within the government that can identify the facts.”

At the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan on September 1, 1923, rumors circulated that “Koreans (or Chinese) in Japan have turned into rioters and are poisoning wells, arson and looting, and attacking Japanese people.” Japanese civilians organized a vigilante group and indiscriminately massacred approximately 6,000 Koreans living in Japan. This year marks the 100th anniversary.

Source: Donga