Photo/Illutration Yuki Iiyama, center, takes a stand against the Tokyo metropolitan government in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district on Oct. 28. (Provided photo)

In the chaotic aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of Sept. 1, 1923, vicious rumors led to the massacre of many Korean residents in Japan by the Japanese military, police and vigilantes.

This is an established historical fact. And yet, a situation that could pervert this truth was created by the Human Rights Division of the Tokyo metropolitan government.

Artist Yuki Iiyama was commissioned by an organization affiliated with the Tokyo government to produce a film for an exhibition on human rights. But the film’s screening was blocked by the Human Rights Division.

The 26-minute film analyzes the medical records of ethnic Koreans who were hospitalized in a Tokyo hospital’s psychiatric ward before World War II, and contains an interview with a historian researching the 1923 massacre.

The Tokyo government’s stated reason for its rejection is that the film deviates from the exhibition’s theme of “people with disabilities and human rights.”

A Human Right Division official in charge of the project viewed the film and sent an email to the affiliated organization, questioning a statement made by the historian in the film that “the massacre of Koreans by Japanese is a fact.”

The official went on to point out, “The Tokyo metropolitan government does not comment on this particular perception of history.” And reminding the organization of Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s position of not issuing a memorial statement on an annual Sept. 1 ceremony to mourn Korean victims of the 1923 catastrophe, the official expressed “concern” about the historian’s assertion of the massacre’s reality.

The historical reality of the massacre has been amply corroborated by multiple public documents compiled by government ministries and agencies at that time, as well as by various government reports made later.

What causes us greater “concern” is this Tokyo government official’s perception of history.

For six years in a row, including this year, Koike has not issued a memorial statement on Sept. 1. She has justified this by pointing out that she expresses her condolences to all victims of earthquakes, and that “historical facts are open to various interpretations” and “are for historians to delve into.”

We believe this sort of tone-deafness on Koike’s part probably accounts for the slanted view of the Human Rights Division official.

Koike’s responsibility is quite grave and cannot be overlooked. She ought to take the consequences of her own conduct seriously and recognize the need to face historical facts squarely whenever she communicates her message to society.

In response to the Oct. 28 revelation by Iiyama and her colleagues of what had transpired, the Tokyo government denied that the film’s assertion of the reality of the massacre was the reason for withdrawing its screening request, but conceded that the wording of the email sent by the official smacked of “immaturity.”

But this admission alone cannot get the government off the hook. Since the official acted as a representative of an entity that is in charge of important human rights policies implemented by the metropolitan government, the latter must get to the root of the problem and disclose the results.

The Tokyo government critiques the film as “focusing mainly on the hardships of Korean residents in Japan.” But Iiyama counters that describing their plight today is indispensable to uncovering the emotional agonies experienced by their prewar counterparts.

We believe any evaluation of this film is best left to individual viewers.

In hosting this event, how deeply did the Tokyo government appreciate the importance of freedom of expression and respecting the creator’s autonomy?

This is another question that needs to be examined closely.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 2

Related News