Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Gunma Prefecture began to forcibly dismantle a memorial monument for North Korean workers on the 29th, triggering civic groups. Previously, right-wing groups pressured the county on the grounds that the memorial service was "political" in nature. Civic groups believe that the removal of the memorial monument means covering up the history of Japanese forced conscription of laborers in the countries invaded.
During Japan's invasion and colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, about 6,000 laborers were forcibly recruited to work in munitions factories and mines in Gunma Prefecture, killing an estimated 300 to 500 people, according to South Korea's Seoul Shimbun. In 2004, a Japanese civic group erected a memorial monument in the Gunma no Mori, a prefectural park in Takasaki City.
The memorial monument consists of a concrete circular base, a stone monument, and a golden pagoda with the inscription "Memory, Reflection, Friendship" in Japanese, Korean, and English. For nearly 20 years, this memorial monument has served as a symbol of friendship between Japan and South Korea.
According to the "Korean Nation", since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo came to power again in 2012, Japan's right-leaning has intensified. Right-wing groups have put pressure on Gunma Prefecture** and repeatedly disrupted memorial services.
Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported that in 2014, Gunma Prefecture refused to renew permission to erect the monument to the citizens' group that manages the memorial monument, citing that between 2004 and 2012, those attending the memorial service said that they "emphasized the fact of forced expropriation and gave everyone a correct understanding of history," a statement that violated the condition set when the monument was approved that "no political activities be carried out."
The citizens' group that manages the memorial monument, the "'Memory and Reflection, Guardian Friendship' Memorial Monument Association", believes that the county's move is illegal, and initiates a lawsuit, which won the first instance in April 2018, but the lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court of Japan, and finally lost the case in June 2022. Gunma Prefecture** asked the citizens' group to remove the memorial monument in April last year, but it was not complied with, so the enforcement process was initiated. Due to the demolition work, the park will be closed until February 11, and the related costs of 30 million yen (about 1.46 million yuan) will be borne by the "memorial monument".
On the morning of the 29th, a 2-meter-high and 20-meter-long shield was erected at the entrance to the back entrance of the park near the memorial monument, as if to prevent reporters and citizens from approaching. On weekdays, you can see the barbed wire fence inside the park covered with a blue cloth. A Japanese television reporter who was present at the scene said that heavy equipment such as cranes used to dismantle the memorial monument suddenly drove into the park on the evening of the 28th.
The 74-year-old director of the "Memorial Monument Society" secretariat, Yasuhito Fujii, said: "Could it be that the county ** also realized that this was a shameful thing, so it was carefully covered and demolished? The memorial monument was demolished in order to erase the history of the crimes committed by Japan. Even if the memorial monument is removed, the spirit of remembering history, reflecting on history, and developing friendly relations will continue. He said the group will continue its activities to pass on historical facts.
Hundreds of people from many civic groups in Japan held a ** rally in front of the memorial monument on the afternoon of the 28th, and some people staged a sit-in demonstration all night. They said that the right-wing group claimed that there was no forced labor, and that the removal of the memorial monument was tantamount to supporting the right-wing group's denial of history, and that an artist group submitted a letter signed by more than 4,300 people to Gunma Prefecture on the 26th to oppose the demolition. Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" 30**, on the 29th, there was also an ** event in front of the county ** office building.
On Japanese social media, a person who opposed the removal of the memorial monument wrote: "It is a contradiction that Gunma Prefecture Governor Kazuta Yamamoto is demolishing a monument that symbolizes friendship while saying that Japan and South Korea should carry out tourism and other exchanges." ”
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi was asked about the incident at a regular press conference on the 29th and refused to comment. Kazuta Yamamoto said that he did not think the matter would affect diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea.
The Korean Nation pointed out that South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol ** was bent on improving relations between Japan and South Korea and did not say a word about the monument demolition incident. Yonhap News Agency reported earlier this month that a South Korean TV station said that the South Korean side is making necessary communication with the Japanese side on this matter, hoping to resolve it in a direction that does not hinder the friendly relations between the two countries. (Hu Ruoyu).