With the 100th anniversary of the Kanto Massacre on the 1st of next month, voices calling for a proper spotlight on the historical tragedy are growing, and the Japanese government has announced that it will neither apologize nor commemorate the incident.
According to Kyodo News, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno refused to comment on the massacre that occurred against Koreans during the Great Kanto Earthquake at a press conference on the 30th, saying, “There are no records within the government that allow us to determine the truth.” Minister Matsuno responded negatively to a question asking whether the government was willing to investigate the facts, and did not give a specific answer to the current situation where hate speech against minorities, including Koreans in Japan, continues.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike plans not to send a memorial letter to the memorial service for the Korean victims of the Great Kanto Earthquake this year again. He has not sent a eulogy for seven consecutive years since 2017, the year after he took office. Although all previous governors, including former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who was an extreme right-winger, sent condolences, he again rejected a request for a eulogy from the organization hosting the memorial service last month.
The Kanto Massacre refers to an incident in which Japanese police, military, and vigilantes indiscriminately killed Koreans in 1923 after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in the Kanto region of Japan, including Tokyo and Yokohama.
When a major earthquake occurred on September 1 of that year and people were in a state of panic, the Japanese government declared martial law the next day, and each police station and security guard issued statements such as ‘Koreans took advantage of the chaos after the earthquake to start a riot’ and ‘poisoned the well’. spread the rumor Afterwards, vigilante groups organized around the military and police massacred at least 6,600 Koreans across the country.
The Japanese government’s position is that it is not responsible for the massacre because it was caused by residents who believed rumors. In 2017, the Abe administration rejected citizens’ demands for an investigation into the truth, saying there were no records. Far-right groups in Japan claim that the number of Korean casualties is inflated, that Koreans actually rioted at the time, and that the massacre was a justified defense.
There is criticism that not only the Japanese government but also the Korean government is avoiding responsibility for the Kanto Massacre or neglecting to investigate the truth. Last March, 100 ruling and opposition party lawmakers proposed the ‘Special Bill on Finding the Truth about the Kanto Massacre and Restoring the Honor of the Victims’, and remembering and commemorating the massacre were largely carried out by private organizations in Korea and Japan.
To mark the 100th anniversary, a memorial ceremony will be held on September 1st, hosted by the Tokyo headquarters of the Korean National Association in Japan (Mindan). This event, sponsored by the Embassy in Japan and the Office of Overseas Koreans, will be held at the Tokyo International Forum, a large exhibition hall in central Tokyo, under the name of the ‘100th Anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake Memorial Ceremony for Koreans who died.’
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.