Gunma Prefecture blocks public access and enforces demolition
Japanese civic group: “Conscience torn to pieces”
It was confirmed on the 1st that the memorial monument for Korean workers in the ‘Gunma Forest’ prefectural park in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, had been removed. The concrete memorial facility was broken down by an excavator and removed in pieces.
The Asahi Shimbun reported a photo of the demolition site of the Korean memorial monument taken from the sky above Gunma Forest on the morning of the 31st of last month. Gunma Prefecture has closed the park for two weeks starting on the 29th of last month, when demolition began, and is blocking access to the general public, including reporters. Looking at the photo, an excavator, apparently called by Gunma Prefecture, is destroying the memorial platform. The fragmented memorial equipment was piled up at the memorial site and then removed. The gold tower-shaped monument about 4 meters high next to the memorial was wrapped in a blue cover, laid on its side, and then disappeared. The site of the memorial became an empty lot.
Before demolition, three signs were attached to the memorial monument, including a metal plate that said ‘Reflection on Memory and Friendship’ in Korean, Japanese, and English, and a notice stating the purpose of erection. This metal plate was delivered to the civic group that owned it before the memorial was torn down.
Gunma Prefecture civic group ‘Memorial Protection Group’ said, “The conscience of peace-loving people has been torn to shreds.” The organization said, “Can we forgive the act of public authorities arbitrarily destroying facilities that commemorate the dead? “I am very sorry that Gunma Prefecture has committed a great sin in history,” he said.
The memorial was led by local civic groups and erected in a forest in Gunma in 2004 with permission from Gunma Prefecture. However, controversy arose when Japanese right-wing forces took issue with a remark made by an attendee at a memorial gathering in 2012, saying, “It is important to remember the fact of forcible deportation.” Gunma Prefecture, which initially granted installation permission for 10 years, refused to extend it, and in 2022, Japan’s highest court (Supreme Court) ruled that the local government’s decision not to allow it was legal. Gunma Prefecture Governor Ichita Yamamoto, who carried out the demolition, said at a press conference that day, “I think the fact that a decision has been made through trial will be the answer to everything.”
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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.