Photo/Illutration A dancer performs a requiem dance at a ceremony to commemorate the Korean victims of the Great Kanto Earthquake on Sept. 1, 2023, in Tokyo's Sumida Ward. (Shiro Maeda)

For reasons that have not been clearly explained, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is once again ignoring a dark chapter in Japan’s history.

She should face up to the grim facts about this nation’s past and show a willingness to learn from them.

Koike does not plan to send a message of condolence to a Sept. 1 ceremony to mourn the Koreans massacred during the Great Kanto Earthquake, a massive quake that devastated Tokyo and the region on Sept. 1, 1923.

This will mark the eighth consecutive year she has not taken the step.

She was just re-elected for a third term as governor in a recent poll, in which this issue was not a significant point of contention. Her re-election should not be viewed as a public endorsement of her past stance on this matter.

It is clear from reports and diaries of the time that many ethnic Koreans from the Korean Peninsula were killed during the large-scale disaster by citizens, the military and police who believed false rumors such as “Koreans are poisoning the wells.”

Koike said she will express her condolences to “all those who were sacrificed” at the Tokyo-to Irei Kyokai’s (Tokyo Memorial Association) Buddhist memorial service, but a massacre is different from a natural disaster.

That is why Koike’s predecessors, including the late Shintaro Ishihara, sent condolence messages to this ceremony intended to mourn the lives taken by human hands.

Koike's attitude aligns with the denial of massacres based on a refusal to acknowledge the uncomfortable past that some people find it hard to face up to.

Why did the massacres occur? After Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910, Japan oppressed those seeking independence, branding them as “insubordinate Koreans.”

Amid fears of riots by Korean workers, rumors and false information spread quickly, and vigilante groups formed, questioning pedestrians and harming anyone they suspected of being Korean.

During disasters, people gripped by fear and anxiety are more likely to believe in falsehoods, and if latent discriminatory feelings are ignited, brutal group actions may follow. The massive killer earthquake taught this harsh lesson.

Last year, which marked the 100th anniversary of the disaster, saw a widespread civic movement to unearth testimonies and documents about the massacre.

A fresh wave of interest in the topic has continued into this year, with lectures by researchers taking place across the country. It is crucial to ensure that this increased interest is connected to efforts to take a fresh, hard look at lesser-known aspects of the disaster.

Meanwhile, the government maintains an ambiguous, evasive stance toward the massacre, stating, “No records that can ascertain the facts are found within the government.”

However, official records documenting the massacre, such as the “Detailed Report of the Kanto Martial Law Command” and the “History of Tokyo,” compiled by the metropolitan government, do exist.

Exploiting uncertainties concerning some facts to obscure the massacre itself is unacceptable.

The government should acknowledge the facts, investigate why the killings fueled by rumors occurred, and clarify the realities of foreign victims, including Koreans.

In 2016, the only time when Koike sent a message of condolence to the ceremony for massacre victims, she stated that stories about the killings “must be handed down from generation to generation so that we can ensure such unfortunate events are never repeated, and all people can live a safe social life.”

This should be how the dark episode should be recognized.

Facing up to historical facts and continuing to vow not to repeat mistakes is crucial, and its importance does not change even after a century.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 30

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