Japan to Investigate only 100 Companies over the Remains of Forced Mobilized Joseon Workers

The “research team for the truth of the forced mobilization of the Joseon people” pointed out that although the Japanese government has said that it will investigate the situation regarding the remains of Joseon workers, who died after being forcibly mobilized during the Second World War, Japan’s investigation may end as a mere formal investigation since very few companies are being intended for investigation.

The research team, which had been promoting a movement for the return of the forced mobilized worker’s remain since 1972, said that it estimates more than one million people were forcibly mobilized, and more than 4,000 companies hired them, further urging a full investigation into the remains of forced mobilized workers.

On May 16, the research team held a press conference in Tokyo, and noted that after analyzing the work places of 67,609 people from the Japanese government’s list of Joseon workers, it discovered that Joseon workers suffered forced labor at 406 companies, including a Mitsui Miike coal mine, and 502 work places.

Hong Sang-jin, business director of the research team, said, “The prevalent view is that though the Japanese government has announced the official number of mobilized workers as 667,684, the academic circle is presuming the number of forced mobilized workers to exceed one million,” and claimed that while more than 400 companies employed 67,000 workers, investigating a mere 100 work places shows that the Japanese government intends to resolve the issue by handling it evasively.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will announce the above mentioned matter at the Korea-Japan summit scheduled for the end of June, which includes Japan’s intention to soothe anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea.

Won-Jae Park parkwj@donga.com