On Sunday, September 17, 2023, a symposium titled “The Significance of Remembering Racism – An International Symposium – For the Establishment of a Museum of the Great Kanto Earthquake Genocide” was held at Fukutake Hall. The event was organized by “Action to Remember the 1923 Kanto Korean Genocide” run by a general incorporated association “East Asia Peace Action,” with the cooperation of the Research Planning Committee of the Association for Cultural Typhoon, Toko Tanaka Laboratory, and Femi-Zemi & Cafe. In total, about 270 people participated in the event, both online and onsite.

The symposium opened with a performance of Changsaenap by Haa Yeongsu (Kumgangsan Opera Troupe), followed by a greeting from co-host Professor Toko Tanaka. Referring to the slander, stereotyping, and hate speech that abound in today’s online social media discourse space, Professor Tanaka framed the viewpoint of racism and prejudice against others that caused the genocide after the Great Kanto Earthquake as part of a continuum that still exists today. She also pointed out that the genocide is not merely a past event of 100 years ago, but a continuing issue about which we still need to think critically even today with the advancement of technology. Noting that minorities, women, and other socially vulnerable groups suffer the most when natural disasters occur, she emphasized the necessity of a perspective of diversity and inclusion in order to rethink such issues.

After the report on the activities of “Action to Remember the 1923 Kanto Korean Genocide,” lectures were given by Kim Jongsoo (Director of 1923 History Museum for Memory and Peace, Korea), Masako Kunitake (Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki Peace Museum) and Toshiro Mitsuoka (Professor, Tokyo Keizai University).

First, Kim shared the story and the background of the establishment and operation of the museum of which he is the director, emphasizing that the museum was opened through the power of the private sector at the end of 2020 to inform people of “the truth of history hidden by state violence”. He expressed the hope that a museum will be established somewhere in Kanto Japan, by the power of citizens, inheriting the will of those who overcame opposition to build memorials. Next, Kunitake spoke from the perspective of the director of the museum established in 1995 to pursue Japan’s responsibility for aggression and war, highlighting why a museum focusing on responsibility for aggression was established and what role it should play in contemporary Japan. Mitsuoka then presented a talk from the perspective of a museum research specialist on how a museum as a social institution can function to preserve memory and promote changes in people’s perception. Finally, the five-hour long symposium closed with a performance by Haa Yeongsu, Gayageum player Kim Yonsil (Ex-Member of Kumgangsan Opera Troupe), and Korean dancer Song Yong Suk (Kumgangsan Opera Troupe).

Text/Photos: Kyosuke Yamamoto (PhD student)