Photo/Illutration Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno at a news conference on Aug. 28 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

I usually try not to use cliches in this column, but I am going to say exactly how I reacted to a recent article in The Asahi Shimbun.

I could not believe my eyes.

Regarding the massacre of ethnic Koreans in the immediate aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Asahi report quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno as saying, “As far as the government’s research goes, there were no documents that would enable us to get the facts straight.”

What a ludicrous statement. That could not be farther from the truth.

For example, Justice Ministry records from that period are readily viewable at the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, a government-run website.

The records describe numerous cases of Japanese atrocities against Korean residents, including the murder of a 28-year-old man selling Korean candy in the town of Yorii in Saitama Prefecture on Sept. 6 exactly 100 years ago: The victim was fatally attacked by Japanese vigilantes armed with samurai swords and bamboo spears.

“Seized by mass hysteria, the populace brutalized perfectly good, innocent people,” goes one account. “This is truly deplorable.”

From this vividly descriptive narrative, I could almost imagine hearing the voices of people lamenting the unforgivable acts.

Of course, I would never deny the possibility that even contemporary accounts were not completely free of misstatements and assumptions.

However, examined in the light of testimonies collected so far by researchers and citizens’ groups, there can be no denying that the massacre of Koreans did occur.

I am ashamed to admit that I remained unaware, until now, that since a few years ago the government has been repeating the same comments as Matsuno’s in the Diet and on various occasions.

The standard pattern has been to repeat that there are “no records” and simply refuse to discuss whether massacres ever took place. Eventually, that created and spread the impression that historical facts themselves were vague and could not be confirmed.

How terribly dangerous. What, exactly, is the government trying to protect and where does it intend to go?

I cannot shake off the feeling that some indefinable mood, although still only nascent, is starting to close in around us.

The thought leaves me cold.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 6

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.