Japanese Red Cross Intervened in Deportation of Korean-Japanese to N. Korea

A document has been discovered, revealing that the repatriation project of Korean residents in Japan (1959-1984) was a virtual “deportation project” that the politicians of the Japanese government and the Japanese Red Cross Society and others pushed for together.

The Asahi Shimbun reported this on September 16, quoting from a document of the International Federation of Red Cross, which was revealed this year.

According to the Asahi Shimbun’s report, which was obtained from a research team at Australia National University, the president of the Japanese Red Cross society supported the repatriation project by sending a letter to the International Federation of the Red Cross in December 1955.

The Japanese Red Cross Society expressed its support for the project by saying, “If the repatriation does not provoke any problems in relations between us and Korea and is executed by the International Federation of Red Cross instead of the North Korean Red Cross, the Japanese side has no objections but great expectations.” After a month, a letter under the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Japanese Red Cross Society said, “Ashida Hitoshi, the former prime minister, and others have notified us unofficially that they are planning to concretize a policy that supports the repatriation of Korean residents in Japan,” which also shows the attitude of the Japanese government in power at the time. Also the letter said, “This letter obtained complete approval from influential authorities like the Japanese Foreign Office and the Department of Justice,” showing that the Japanese government supported the repatriation project as a way of “clearing Korean people in Japan.”

The research team reminded us of the fact that the International Federation of the Red Cross officially proposed to mediate the repatriation project seven months after receiving the first letter from the Japanese Red Cross, and analyzed that the Japanese government and politicians, the Japanese Red Cross, and others had actively engaged in the repatriation project from its initial stages.

The Japanese Red Cross also delivered a message indicating that it was hoping that the Japanese government’s approval of the repatriation project wouldn’t be revealed to the public in a letter that was sent to the International Federation of the Red Cross in February, 1957.

Among the 90,000-odd Korean residents in Japan who were sent to North Korea by Japan’s deportation policy and North Korea’s propaganda of North Korea being an earthly paradise, many deportees disappeared or suffered hardships such as being killed on charges of espionage.

Hun-Joo Cho hanscho@donga.com