For Koreans in Japan, this little-known massacre still carries weight – Beragampengetahuan

Hundreds are expected to gather along Tokyo’s Arakawa River on Saturday to commemorate an oft-forgotten massacre.

Following the Great Kanto earthquake on Sept. 1, 1923, Japanese authorities spread rumors that immigrants from Korea – then a colony of Japan – were starting riots and poisoning city wells. More than 6,600 Koreans were killed by Japanese military, police, and vigilante groups, according to accounts collected by Housenka, a civic group that organizes this anniversary event.

While many Japanese honor the lives lost in the earthquake, relatively few know about the subsequent massacre. That’s at least partly because the government refuses to acknowledge the killings – something advocates say would help bring awareness to the problems Koreans face in present-day Japan. Today, Japanese-born Koreans are not granted citizenship or allowed to vote, and anti-Korean sentiment remains pervasive in media and politics.

Government spokespeople have insisted that there are not adequate records of the massacre, but former public school teacher and Housenka leader Nishizaki Masao says that’s simply not true. He spent years combing through public library collections and compiled more than 1,100 witness accounts of the attacks.

“If we had a government that had conducted thorough investigation into the massacre … it would never tolerate hate speech toward Koreans,” says Mr. Nishizaki, who is Japanese.

Despite searing heat and syrupy humidity, hundreds of people are set to gather on the bank of the Arakawa River in Tokyo this weekend to pay tribute to the Koreans who died 100 years ago in an oft-forgotten massacre.

Amid the chaos after the Great Kanto earthquake on Sept. 1, 1923, Japanese authorities spread rumors that immigrants from Korea – then a colony of Japan – were starting riots, setting fires, and poisoning city wells. More than 6,600 Koreans were slaughtered by military, police, and vigilante groups in the days following the earthquake. On this peaceful riverbank, where overgrown weeds sway around a makeshift venue, Japanese soldiers killed dozens of men execution style, according to accounts collected by Housenka, a civic group that’s been organizing the anniversary event since 1982. 

Historians say the massacre was driven by the government’s growing concerns about Korean independence, as well as xenophobia and anti-Korean sentiment among the general population. Even today, Japanese-born Koreans are not granted citizenship or allowed to vote. They have long been targets of discrimination and hate speech, especially amid North Korea’s provocations. And while many Japanese honor the lives lost in the Great Kanto earthquake, relatively few know about the subsequent massacre. That’s at least partly because the government refuses to acknowledge the killings – something advocates say would help bring awareness to the problems Koreans face in present-day Japan. 

“Amid the cold war between the U.S. and Soviet Union, Japan was able to return to the international community without reflecting on its colonialism seriously,” says Tanaka Hiroshi, a Hitotsubashi University professor emeritus of history. “China and Korea suffered most from Japan’s wartime aggression. But each remains divided. In fact, Japan gained a huge financial windfall from the Korean War, laying the groundwork for becoming a major economic power.”

Mr. Tanaka adds that “while the government has done nothing,” citizen groups like Housenka are playing an important role in unearthing information about the massacre and educating the public. In fact, Housenka expects record attendance at the centennial anniversary, reflecting years of efforts to foster community and draw attention to anti-Korean discrimination, past and present.

Building bridges

To wrap one’s head around the massacre, experts say it’s important to understand the climate in Japan when the earthquake hit. Koreans had recently taken to the streets in Seoul to demand independence from Imperial Japan. Authorities violently suppressed these demonstrations, but feared that independence movement leaders might forge ties with socialists and labor activists in Japan. The disaster also struck at a beragampengetahuan when more Koreans and Chinese were coming to Japan for jobs, stoking fears among Japanese workers that they were being replaced. In addition to targeting Korean residents, Japanese socialists and hundreds of Chinese immigrants were also killed during the attacks.