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Pyongyang, November 9, 2002 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article lays bare the criminal nature of the Japanese imperialists' system of forcible drafting of Koreans. The article says: This criminal system of the Japanese imperialists was an important part of their policy of exterminating Koreans as it was aimed at requisitioning them for a military purpose and enslaving the Korean nation. According to the testimonies of the victims of forcible drafting and the results of the probe into the truth behind the damage, Koreans were drafted in the most intolerable coercive manner in physical and mental aspects as it was a vicious cycle of misanthropy, brutality, ferocity and cruelty such as requisition, arrest, abduction, appeasement, deception, blackmail, fraud, racial discrimination, slave labor, sexual abuse, "human bomb attack," torture, jailing and killing.
The system enforced by the Japanese imperialists was slave labor stipulated in the 1926 "international treaty on slavery." The system of forcible drafting of Koreans completely comes under the slave system stipulated by the international treaty because the then state of Japan reduced the forcibly drafted Koreans to slaves of the Japanese "Empire" and acted as a slave owner who was entitled to spare or kill Koreans. The system of forcibly drafting Koreans can, therefore, be described as a system of slave labor. The resolution on the Korean issue of the Cairo Declaration on the post-second world war settlement adopted in November 1943 also described Japan's harsh colonial enslavement of Korea as "slavery forced upon the Korean people". The forcible drafting of Koreans was enforced at the two phases of unofficial and official drafting. The official forcible drafting was perpetrated by Japan against all the Koreans throughout the country by use of the judicial, military and police forces of its "government-general" there during its 40-odd-year colonial rule after completely occupying Korea by force of arms.
BBC Monitoring Service, 14 April 2002. Pyongyang: The Japanese Diet on 11 April adopted a very self-opinionated resolution intended to seriously tarnish the dignity of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea], asserting that the "suspected kidnapping is a crucial issue related to the state sovereignty and basic human rights and humanitarianism." This sparked a strong public furor in the DPRK. In the resolution the Japanese Diet described the "issue of those missing" as the "issue of kidnapping" and insisted that it is a serious issue related to the state sovereignty and human rights.
Japan drafted by force over 6 million innocent Koreans and indiscriminately killed them by working them like beasts of burden and forced at least 200,000 women into sexual slavery for the Japanese imperialist aggressors after occupying Korea by force of arms. How should these crimes against humanity be interpreted? These are most hideous crimes as Japan deprived other nations of its sovereignty and seriously infringed upon the rights of its people. Such being the hard fact, Japan has not yet apologized nor compensated for its past wrongdoings, keeping quiet about them.
Japan is only busy with denying, distorting and justifying its crime-woven history, far from making apology and compensation. If the Japanese Diet have had respect for reason and human conscience, facing up to the history, it would have adopted a resolution that called for apologizing and compensating for those crimes committed by the Japanese imperialists in the past. The Diet will take such stand and attitude if it is responsible for the future of the people of the country and represents their true interests and conscience. Only this can be regarded as a good deed from the historical and political points of view. History can never be denied. The profound confusing of right and wrong can not but be branded as the biggest crime. The Diet should not forget the saying: "call a spade a spade." It is well advised to face up to the history and reality and withdraw the unreasonable resolution.
Compiled from KCNA. The 21st century has begun, but Japan is still going against the trend of times by stubbornly avoiding the settlement of the past and, moreover, distorting history and glossing over its crime-ridden past through textbooks for the younger generation. This has provoked strong denunciation from the world public. The Arab Art, Culture mid Information Association of Egypt published a statement which said: "Honestly reflecting on and compensating for its crime-ridden past is a historical task Japan commits itself to the international community.
"In the past Japan occupied Korea and other Asian countries and incurred a great loss of manpower and materials. "It is a well-known fact that during its 40 and more year-long military rule over Korea Japan killed many people, drafted young people to forced labour, reduced women to sex slaves for the Japanese army, and robbed Korea of a large amount of materials and cultural wealth. "However, the Japanese authorities still refuse to settle the past and go as far as to beautify their history of aggression in history textbooks.
"This is an intolerable insult to the Korean and other Asian peoples who were subjected to cruel exploitation and colonial slavery for dozens of years, and an outright challenge to international justice as well."
Prensa Latina of Cuba wrote, in an article under the title "We denounce Japan for its distortion of history in relation to Korea", that Japan avoided mention in textbooks of the atrocities committed by the imperial army in Korea and other Asian countries and denied the fact that the army reduced nearly 200,000 Korean women to sex slaves.
It is a wanton violation of international law that the Ministry of Education and Science of Japan approved the distorted textbooks, the article noted. It pointed out that far from soul-searching, the Japanese authorities try to teach the younger generation distorted history, which is another crime against Asian peoples, an act contrary to the moral principles of humanity. The All-India Democratic Women's Association said that the Japanese authorities deleted from textbooks the "comfort women" issue, which has been recognized worldwide as a human rights violation. While the UN Human Rights Committee and other international organizations and many countries demand a probe into the truth and compensation for the victims, the Japanese government showed its arrogance towards the international community by deleting the issue from the textbook.
Indonesian TV reported that the history distortion of the Japanese authorities reveals that the government has not shaken off its old way of thinking from the era of militarism, when it trampled upon the peoples of Korea and other Asian countries. Against such a background, a university professor of Japan haughtily described the history of the "comfort women" as "toilet history" and Japanese lawmakers paid a group visit to Yasukuni Shrine. This shows, it noted, that Japan, instead of learning a lesson from the past, attempts to resurrect the old dream of dominating Asia.
People Daily reported that recently leaders from the DPRK political parties and social communities made remarks requesting Japan to face its invasion crime and completely account for its invasion history. The DPRK Social Democratic Party leader reviewed the Japanese invasion to Korea and listed many horrible numbers, saying that Japan had invaded Korea for over 40 years, impressed over 6 million young laborers and killed more than 1 million Korean people. Other DPRK parties also expressed their anger and accusation to Japanese invasion. They said that Japan should apologize and compensate for the victim countries. (Xinhua News Agency, Zhang Jinfang, Li Zhengyu, "DPRK CALLED JAPAN TO ACCOUNT FOR ITS INVASION HISTORY," Pyongyang, 09/18/01, P3)
Pyongyang, July 24, 2001 (KCNA) -- By allowing the use of the wrongly written history textbooks Japan added one more crime to the hideous crimes committed by the Japanese imperialists in the past, says Minju Joson today in a signed commentary. It says:
The Japanese reactionaries' moves to tamper with history once again convinced the international community of Japan's shameless and crafty true colours and moral vulgarity and clearly suggested that warning against the revival of Japanese militarism is by no means an empty talk but it is a reality. Japan is leaving no stone unturned in its preparations to realise its ambition for overseas aggression. Its distortion of history has been conducted under the government's tacit consent and coordination to meet this purpose. It was a true aim sought by Japan in the controversial history textbooks to imbue the young Japanese with the idea of militarist overseas aggression and ambition for it defying whatever criticism of the distortion of history and truth and let them take an active part in a war of aggression. The distribution of those history textbooks would not help Japan erase its past crime-woven history. The Japanese reactionaries are well advised to behave with discretion for the sake of the destiny and future of Japan and immediately stop fanning up militarism and hysteria of overseas invasion in society.
Pyongyang, July 15, 2001 (KCNA) -- The Japanese authorities on July 9 adopted a decision turning down the strong demand of peoples at home and abroad for rewriting the junior middle school history textbooks, which distort Japan's history of aggression. They claim that the decision was made in "deep consideration" of Japan's stance toward the revision of the controversial textbooks. Commenting on it, Rodong Sinmun today says:
The Japanese government approved the controversial history textbooks at its examination, and has refused to meet the strong demand from people at home and abroad for their revision. This is intended to cover up Japan's past crimes and evade the apology and compensation for them and, furthermore, infuse the idea of aggression into the younger Japanese for overseas aggression and thus attain its wild design for "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" at any cost it failed to do in the past. After all, the "decision adopted in deep consideration" means that the Japanese authorities have taken everything into serious consideration to achieve their ambition for overseas aggression. The Japanese authorities should lend an ear to the voices of the Asian people who suffered immeasurable damage due to the Japanese imperialists in the past, and drop their shameless position not to redress and apologize for the past crimes while distorting them.
Pyongyang, June 30 (KCNA) -- A symposium of historians denouncing the Japanese authorities' moves to tamper with history was held at the Grand People's Study House under the sponsorship of the history society of the DPRK. Speeches were made under such titles as "reactionary theory of 'Mimana Miyake' is sophism to justify history of Japan's domination of Korea," "Japan's crafty distortion of history to cover up its criminal history of aggression of Korea in middle ages," "Japanese authorities' tampering with history to justify and whitewash Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea and colonial rule over it," "Japanese reactionaries' distortion of Korean people's independent movement for modernization and history of their struggle against aggression," "truth behind the U.S. imperialists' provocation of Korean War and Japanese reactionaries' distortion and denial of their involvement in war" and "Japanese reactionaries' crime of whitewashing their history of wars of overseas aggression."
Referring to the fact that retrogressively revised history textbooks grossly distorted the history of early Korea-Japan relations, the speakers disclosed that this is intended to justify the history of Japan's aggression and domination of Korea. Saying that those new textbooks did not mention at all the criminal atrocities committed by Japan against the Korean people, the speakers said that the hiding of such hideous crimes as cruelly killing millions of Koreans, drafting more than 6 million young and middle-aged Koreans by force and reducing nearly 200,000 Korean women to sexual slaves for the "imperial army," the biggest crime committed by the Japanese imperialists during their military occupation of Korea, is intended to cover up those crimes and evade the responsibility to settle the past.
The Japanese reactionaries wrote that the Korean War broke out due to the "invasion" by the DPRK although it was provoked by the U.S. imperialists. This is a reflection of the dastardly stand of the Japanese authorities accustomed to currying favour with their master from long ago and a crafty trick to conceal their true colours as war accomplice. Referring to the Japanese authorities' criminal acts of whitewashing the history of wars of overseas aggression launched by Japan, the speakers dismissed them as an intolerable mockery of the Korean people and those in the Asia-Pacific region and a brigandish act of reversing justice and injustice. They strongly urged the Japanese authorities to immediately withdraw those history textbooks and write new ones based on historical facts to meet the requirements of the times.
Reuters reported that the DPRK on Friday criticized Japan's refusal to grant DPRK officials visas to attend a protest in Tokyo against the publication of history textbooks which critics say gloss over Japan's wartime aggression. Tokyo-based monitoring agency Radiopress quoted DPRK's official Radio Pyongyang and Korean Central Radio as saying, "It runs counter to basic morals and customs regarding international relations and is an outrageously hostile action toward the Republic (North Korea)." A Japanese official told Reuters on June 7 that Japan will not permit entry to the DPRK members of the ruling party. Three officials from the DPRK ruling party had requested visas to visit Japan from June 9-11 to join a rally against the junior high school textbooks. In the radio broadcasts, the DPRK also said Japan was wrong to assume that it can justify its moves to distort history by refusing the officials' visas. ("N.KOREA BLASTS JAPAN FOR REFUSING VISAS FOR RALLY," Tokyo, 6/8/01)
Pyongyang, May 23 (KCNA) -- The DPRK measure committee for demanding compensation to "comfort women for the army" and the victims of the Pacific war issued a report on the results of investigation on May 22 following the recent confirmation of part of the Japanese imperialists' forcible drafting of Koreans. According to the report, in cooperation with the Aichi, Japan, prefectural group to probe the truth behind the forcible drafting of Koreans, the committee succeeded in finding out survivors of the drafting and bereaved families of draftees on the "list of the insured" which includes the names of the Koreans forcibly taken to the Handa works of the Nakashima aircraft co., ltd. The report referred to the probe made into what happened to the Korean draftees at this works.
As requested by the above-said group, the then mayor of Handa, Hiroshi Takeuchi, made public the "list of the insured" and the "list of those killed in air raids" in which those entitled to receive "welfare pension (pension for workers until 1944)" from the works are registered. The committee, on the basis of the list, conducted an investigation which resulted in finding out several victims and bereaved families of those killed. The report disclosed the works' crimes of forcible drafting. 1,200 young and middle-aged Koreans were taken away from the northern part of Korea in January 1945 alone to the Handa works which assembled and manufactured mainly carrier-mounted attack planes and reconnaissance planes of the Japanese navy and over 6,000 Koreans to the Nakashima aircraft co., ltd.
This forcible drafting involved various methods including conscription, arrest, kidnapping and swindle.
According to a testimony made by a victim, Choe Ik Chon, (male, 78), he was walked away by a Japanese cop in mid-November 1943. He was taken to Japan like a slave in a freight wagon, denied even a cup of water during the trip. At the Handa works the Korean draftees were forced to work for 16-18 hours a day, given each less than 100 gram of boiled rice as a meal. The Japanese imperialists took to the works young Korean girls from Chungchong Province under the name of "working women's volunteers corps". Many Korean draftees at the works were killed by the U.S. forces' air raids on Japan on July 24, 1945. The above-mentioned testimonies proved that the forcible drafting of Koreans to the Handa works believed to have taken place in late 1944 or in early 1945 actually started around November 1943. The report said that Japan is evading its state responsibility for the forcible drafting of Koreans.
It went on: For Japan to thoroughly probe its past crimes including the truth behind the forcible drafting of Koreans and open them to the public is a touchstone showing whether it has an intention to liquidate its history of aggression and crimes or not. Japan should open to the public the truth behind the forcible drafting of Koreans and on this basis punish the criminals responsible for it and immediately make a state apology and compensation to all victims. The DPRK measure committee for demanding compensation to "comfort women for the army" and the victims of the pacific war will in the future, too, firmly solidarize with the progressive organizations of different countries of the world and conduct more positive activities to disclose the past crimes of the Japanese imperialists and force Japan to liquidate them.
Pyongyang, May 14 (KCNA) -- The History Society of the DPRK today issued a statement assailing the Japanese authorities for their extremely insolent attitude towards the issue of distorted middle school history textbook after officially approving them at a state examination. The statement recalled that the Japanese authorities approved the distorted history textbook whose author again wrote about the story about "mimanamiyake" whose falsity has long proven and made profound confusion of the right and wrong describing that "Japan's colonial rule helped Korea in its modernization." the author completely deleted such stark a historical fact as the crimes related to the "comfort women for the army," the statement said, and continued: The Japanese authorities, chiming in with the reactionary historians' sophism that representing crime-woven history of Japan as it was would mean "self-maltreating view on history," are taking an irresponsible attitude towards the issue, saying "the government is not in a position to rewrite the textbook as the writing was supervised by an individual organization or a company."
This reflects the Japanese authorities' stand to justify Japan's past crimes to the last and reveals their intention to infuse the idea of aggression into the young Japanese in a bid to realise the old dream of "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." The Japanese authorities' connivance at the distortion of history is not only a serious insult to the noble idea of education in history but a grave crime as it destroys the foundation of international relations. The history society of the DPRK strongly demands the Japanese authorities immediately cancel their "approval" of the above-mentioned history textbook and take a decisive measure to teach objective historical facts to the young Japanese.
Pyongyang, May 8 (KCNA) -- The central committee of the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea released a statement today assailing the Japanese authorities for officially approving on April 3 the middle school history textbook which covered up and whitewashed Japan's past aggression. The statement says: The Japanese imperialists promulgated various "laws" including the "law on land survey" and the "law on forest" after occupying Korea by force of arms. On the strength of those "laws" they robbed Korean farmers of more than one million hectares of fertile land and plundered Korea of over 10 million hectares of forests, thus depriving Koreans of their right to existence. During their occupation of Korea they savagely looted a huge amount of grain, agricultural and live-stock products, industrial crops and specialities and recklessly cut down trees, stripping its mountains and hills bare. Korea thus turned into a veritable hell.
Such being the hard facts, politicians and official figures of the Japanese government including four candidates who ran for the recent presidential election of the liberal democratic party do not hesitate to make remarks favouring the moves to tamper with history. The central committee of the union vehemently denounces in the name of all the agricultural workers in the DPRK the Japanese authorities' shameless moves to tamper with history and their arrogant behaviour encouraging them as one more grave insult to the Korean people and a blatant challenge to the international community and human conscience. The Japanese authorities should immediately stop the criminal moves to distort history and take a responsible measure to ensure that crimes against humanity unprecedented in its history Japan committed during its war of aggression against Asian countries and its occupation of Korea are mentioned in history textbooks as they were.
Pyongyang, May 7 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Ministry of Education and the central committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League separately issued statements today assailing the Japanese authorities for approving middle school history textbooks to be used in the year 2002 at a recent state examination. The spokesman says: The writers of the textbook approved by the ministry of education and science of Japan at the examination deleted or played down such crimes against humanity Japan committed in Korea and other Asian countries in the past as forcible drafting, massacre and "comfort women for the army" after invading those countries. they whitewashed their crimes, absurdly asserting that Japan gave "help" to Korea in its modernization and the pacific war was a "war for the freedom and liberation of Asia." And they also grossly tampered with the history of early Korea-Japan relations by writing again the nonsensical theory of "mimanamiyake."
In face of strong domestic and foreign protest against the approval of the textbook, the Japanese authorities are evading their responsibility for it and adamantly refusing to rewrite textbooks, saying that the government is not in a position to do so as the writing was supervised by an individual organization or a company. It was, however, none other than the ministry of education and science of Japan that approved the distorted history textbook. therefore, no one can deny the fact that the Japanese authorities are to blame for the distortion of history in the textbook. The DPRK strongly demands the Japanese authorities take decisive measures to rewrite distorted history textbooks without delay and make an apology to the international community for approving the distorted history textbook.
The statement of the central committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League says: Japan's distortion of history in textbooks is aimed to stage a comeback to the Korean peninsula. The distortion is timed to coincide with its massive arms buildup, infusion of militarist idea of aggression into young Japanese, evasion of its responsibility to settle its past and the open revelation of its ambition for overseas aggression. The Korean youth vehemently denounce its moves as a blatant provocation to the DPRK and preparations of the Japanese reactionaries to hurl young Japanese into a war of overseas aggression, oblivious of the lesson taught by its past. The Korean youth will never tolerate the Japanese reactionaries' moves to tamper with history and revive militarism. They will certainly force Japan to pay a very high price for the grave crimes the Japanese imperialists committed against the Korean people.
Pyongyang, May 5 (KCNA) -- The liaison council of the society for the study of the Juche idea of Japanese teachers and the Japan-Korea society for scientific and educational interchange on April 15 released a statement captioned "We condemn the moves to turn back the wheel of history by tampering with it through textbooks." The statement noted: It is natural that the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science's recent approval at examination of the seriously twisted junior high school history textbooks is strongly condemned by the Korean and other Asian people. It said that teachers together with broad segments of citizens should conduct a campaign against the approval of the history textbooks written by the "Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform" in order to shatter the reactionary forces' moves to beautify Japan's war of aggression and infuse "imperial" view on history into children and students and thus turn back the wheel of history. It underscored the need not to allow education to be reactionary but to launch a vigorous movement for enforcing right education in history and preserving the constitution and the basic law on education. It called on the government to make an official apology and compensation for the past crime and establish the Japan-DPRK diplomatic ties as early as possible and on the Japanese people to further develop friendship with the Korean people.
Pyongyang, May 4 (KCNA) -- The DPRK Women's Association for Solidarity with Asian Women issued a statement on May 3 in connection with the Japanese authorities' formal approval of a controversial junior high school history textbook draft through examination. The statement said: The textbook, which was passed through examination by the Japanese ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology, denied Japan's responsibility for the past Pacific War with an absurd logic that it was not a war of aggression but a
"war to liberate" Asian countries, and embellished and justified the brutal acts committed by the Japanese army, not containing any words repenting of the colonial domination and the "comfort women for the army". The association vehemently denounced the Japanese authorities' move, regarding it as an intolerable insult to the Korean women, victims, the Korean and Asian peoples and a vicious challenge to justice and human conscience. The Japanese authorities should stop their move to distort history and their hostile policy toward the DPRK, make a sincere apology and compensation for all the past crimes against the Korean people and write about the anti-ethical crimes of Japan including the issue of comfort women in the history textbooks as they were, so that the rising generation may not repeat the shameless past. To do so would be good for the present and future of Japan.
Pyongyang, April 22 (KCNA) -- Minju Joson today in a signed commentary blasts the reckless remarks made by Takao Sakamoto, professor at Kakushuin University of Japan, who wrote history textbooks for middle schoolers to meet worldwide protest and denunciation. The commentary says: Explaining the reason why he did not deal with the issue related to "the comfort women for the army" in the textbooks, he asserted that he did so because "the history of the comfort women for the army" was the same as that of a toilet.
His depiction is little short of the behaviour of the Japanese imperialists who despised the Korean "comfort women" in the past with insulting words. We cannot repress towering national resentment at this. It is the spirit of the Korean nation not to allow anyone to infringe upon the self-respect and dignity of the Korean nation or insult it. Sakamoto should be ready to own full responsibility for the serious consequences to be entailed by his dirty utterance. The Japanese government authorities should stop at once distorting history and officially apologize to the Korean nation for Sakamoto's remarks insulting it again.
Pyongyang, April 22 (KCNA) -- The DPRK representative, addressing the discussion of article 13 "Children's Rights" at the 57th session of the UN commission on human rights held in Geneva on April 11, said that it is the top priority of all states to provide sound social environment for existence, development and protection of children. Calling attention to the fact that recently the Japanese government approved history textbooks with twisted contents related to crimes committed by Japanese imperialists in the past against humanity, he continued: This is only a tip of an iceberg of Japan's prearranged distortion of history. Immense is the negative effects on Japan's younger generation and the international community. The distortion can not be construed otherwise than a premeditated and sinister act of Japanese government designed to conceal Japan's past and imbue the younger generation of Japan with the idea of revival of militarism and reinvasion of other nations. The Japanese government should immediately stop criminal distortion of history, make an official apology for it, admit legal responsibility for the past crimes and take strict measures to prevent the repetition of those crimes without delay.
Pyongyang, April 7 (KCNA) -- The Japanese authorities should immediately stop its moves to distort and justify its crime-woven history, says a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK in a statement released today accusing the Japanese authorities of finally approving on April 3 middle school textbooks, which had been prepared by the "society for preparing new history textbooks," an ultra right-wing organization, at an examination of textbooks despite unanimous domestic and foreign protest and denunciation. These textbooks are to be used from the next year. He continues: The textbooks grossly distort, cover up and justify the Japanese imperialists' colonial rule over Korea, their drafting of Koreans by force and mass killings of people in Korea and other Asian countries before and during the second world war and such crimes against humanity as the "comfort women for the army."
The authorities' approval of those reactionary textbooks indicates that they have the same view on history and the way of thinking as ultra right-wing forces' and are going to justify history of its past aggression before the Japanese and incite ultra-nationalism among them. Their impudent moves to tamper with history are another grave insult to the Koreans and many other Asians who underwent unspeakable sufferings and misfortune at the hands of the Japanese imperialists in the past and an intolerable blatant challenge to the international community and human conscience. Their moves are evoking strong protest and denunciation in those countries surrounding Japan as they reveal dangerous attempt of Japan to cover up its past crimes at any cost, evade responsibility for them, revive militarism and embark upon overseas aggression once again.
The DPRK vehemently denounces the Japanese authorities' insolent aim to equip young Japanese with a wrong view on history, persistently evading apology, repentance and responsibility for their past crimes. The DPRK, the biggest victim of the Japanese imperialists' aggression and colonial rule in the past, cannot but doubt whether the Japanese authorities, which have such view on history and way of thinking, truly wish to open diplomatic relations with the DPRK or not. History can neither be distorted nor be erased. It is the need of the times and the unanimous will of the international community to prevent the repetition of such history of aggression in the new century because the world should never forget the Japanese imperialists' such brutal acts as inflicting untold misfortune and sufferings upon humankind in the last century and is urged to force Japan to make a sincere apology and compensation for those crimes. The DPRK will never overlook Japan's moves to tamper with history and repeat its inglorious past history of aggression but follow them with high vigilance.
Pyongyang, April 6, 2001 (KCNA) -- The Japanese authorities officially approved history textbooks prepared by a right-wing organization on April 3 at their examination despite strong domestic and foreign protest. This is an intolerable insult and a blatant challenge to Korea and other Asian countries which underwent unspeakable disasters at the hands of the Japanese imperialists in the past, the international community and an unbiased public opinion. It is well known to the world that Japan occupied Korea in a brigandish way in early last century and incessantly launched aggression and war against Asian countries, killing tens of thousands of innocent people and looting huge human and material resources.
Japan set up the system of "comfort women for the army" unprecedented in human history of war, reducing hundreds of thousands of women to sexual slaves, hideous crimes against humanity. Such militarists and ultra-nationalists as Tojo were, therefore, executed after being convicted of war crimes at the international tribunal held after the second world war and Japan is still listed as an enemy state in the U.N. Charter. All these are an undeniable and indelible part of the world history of the 20th century. it does not make any sense to write down the history of Japan in the first half of the 20th century without referring to those crimes. However, the Japanese right-wing reactionary forces have persisted in their moves to teach young Japanese distorted history and the Japanese government has gone the length of officially joining in those moves. The government connived at and backed the reactionary moves to rewrite history textbooks from the outset and finally justified and legalized them, thus committing one more unpardonable crime before humankind and history in the new century. Japan will have to pay a very high price for such anachronistic acts.
Pyongyang, March 13 (KCNA) -- Discussions on and assertions for the dominium over Tok islet now being made in Japan do not deserve even a passing note, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary. It says: The Japanese reactionaries peddled a "diplomatic blue paper for the year 2000" in which they claimed Tok islet is "an inalienable part" of Japan's territory and had diet discussions on more than 150 issues related to dominium over Tok islet. The governor of Shimane Prefecture asserted at a recent session of the prefectural assembly that "Takeshima (Tok islet) is an inalienable part of Japan's territory in view of historical facts and international law." This touched off bitter wrath among the Korean people.
The Japanese reactionaries are becoming increasingly assertive for the claim to Tok islet despite the fact that the Tok islet is marked as a territory belonging to Korea in Japan's historical materials and in the past the Japanese authorities admitted themselves that the islet belongs to Korea. Lurking behind their persistent claim is a black-hearted intention to put the islet under its control and stage a comeback to Korea at any cost.
The Japanese reactionaries' moves to usurp the islet are part of their premeditated moves to check Korea from becoming a reunified powerful country, afraid of it. This can not but be interpreted as a fit of those obsessed by guilty conscience and a ridiculous folly of political dwarfs forsaken by history and the times.
It is intolerable for Japan which occupied Korea and inflicted unspeakable misfortune and sufferings upon the Korean people in the past to give its eye-teeth for the inviolable territory of Korea instead of admitting those crimes and making an apology for them. Japan is well advised to behave with discretion and drop its claim to Tok islet.
Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- Various Asian countries that had undergone untold misfortune due to the Japanese imperialists' wars of aggression and occupation are strongly assailing Japan's moves to distort history as an intolerable insult to the Asian people and urging the Japanese authorities to make an apology for them and reject the publication of history textbooks, though belatedly, so that they may not be distributed.
Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary says: The government and conservative rightists of Japan are foolish enough to justify the distortion of history and evade responsibility for it while describing the above-mentioned criticism as an "interference in its internal affair." This brazen-faced and impudent act reminds one of a thief crying "stop the thief " If criminal textbooks that falsify historical truth are used for the education of young people in Japan, it will only result in producing spiritually deformed unable to properly discern the truth.
Who can vouch that various Asian countries would not undergo the same sufferings as they did in the past when young Japanese bereft of the sense of being guilty of the past and moral value are hurled into a war of aggression as a shock brigade. can this be interpreted as interference in the internal affair of Japan?
What the Japanese reactionaries seek through the distortion of history is to arm young people with militarist idea and drive them to overseas aggression. They can never be justified in describing the reaction of the times to Japan's distortion of history as an "interference in its internal affair". Japan is well advised to drop its old way of thinking and sincerely repent of and compensate for its past crimes.
Pyongyang, March 7 (KCNA) -- Asian countries and many other nations of the world are increasingly critical of Japan's examination of history textbooks. This is because Japan seeks to revise history textbooks in the direction of tampering with its history of aggression of Korea and other Asian countries and justifying its past crimes. this is little short of Japan's expression of its will to repeat the history of aggression as it refuses to reflect even a bit on the hideous crimes committed against Asian countries in the 20th century.
That is why the international community and media are taking Japan to account for its moves to distort history and calling upon it to handle the issue prudently.
It is an unavoidable historic duty of all the Japanese including politicians and intellectuals to educate the rising generation with a correct view on history in conformity with the desire of humankind to live in peace in the 21st century. Nevertheless, Japanese rightwing forces do not bother to make a spate of reckless remarks such as "self-maltreatment" and "interference in internal affairs", far from feeling guilty of the distortion of history. Worse still, most of the Japanese are not aware of the truth behind such disturbing development.
The moves to tamper with history are, in fact, directly linked with the dangerous design for ultra-nationalism and militarism which will lead Japan again to war of aggression and destruction. yet, public opinion is not built up in Japan over this acute socio-political issue. this is chiefly attributable to the attitude of Japanese media toward this issue.
Despite strong reaction of Asian countries and protest and condemnation by Japanese fair-minded intellectuals most of the Japanese media have kept mum about this issue. Worse still, Sankei Shimbun is keen to speak for the shameless assertions of the rightwing forces to justify their moves to tamper with history. If Japanese media take such attitude, the people and public of Japan will be ignorant of what is going on and once again fall victim to the fascist politics and war of aggression as they did in the period of Japanese imperialism.
That is why aged soldiers of the former Japanese "Kwantung Army" who were hurled into the war of aggression thronged to the Ministry of Education and Science on March 2 and warned that if history is distorted, the history of aggression will be repeated. The Japanese media are well advised not to keep mum about the moves to distort history but to lead the popular masses to justice and conscience if they truly think of the future of Japan and value people's interests.
The Associate Press reported that a history textbook to be used in Japan will be revised following criticism from other Asian states. The text of the textbook had been leaked prior to publication. Other countries took offense at such statements as, "Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula in 1910 was supported by the United States and European powers as a measure to stabilize East Asia ... the annexation was undertaken legally at that time following the fundamental rules of international relations." ("JAPANESE HISTORY TEXTBOOK REVISED," Tokyo, 3/5/01)
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- The ultra right-wing reactionaries are becoming more undisguised in their moves to beautify the Japanese militarists' history of aggression, deliberately distorting stark historical facts. In this regard Minju Joson today says in a signed commentary:
Norota, former director general of the Japanese Defense Agency, in a lecture let loose a spate of outbursts that "the war for greater East Asia put a definite end to the colonial rule in Asia." This goes to prove that he is distorting and denying the history purposefully. His intention is to evade the responsibility for Japan's past criminal acts of aggression and illegal occupation and rule at any cost and revive Japanese militarism in a bid to realise its old dream of "Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere" come what may.
The Japanese reactionaries are keen to emerge as the "leader of Asia" as early as possible by launching overseas expansion. Obsessed with this wild ambition, they reverse black and white and seem not to care about their fate. This clearly shows what an extent the frantic moves of the Japanese reactionaries for militarist overseas expansion have reached. This also proves that the Japanese political circle is becoming ultra rightist and reactionary. This is evidenced by Norota's outbursts.
Pyongyang, March 5 (KCNA) -- Japan's moves to distort history textbooks are bitterly denounced in South Korea. The people's council for national reconciliation and cooperation in its statement issued on February 28 charged that textbooks published by the "society for preparing new history textbooks" are nothing but false history textbooks justifying the history of militarist aggression, warning it that if they go through the examination by the ministry of education and science, the council will not remain a passive on-looker to it, Seoul-based Yonhap News said.
At least 200 teachers in Seoul and its surrounding areas held a rally in Seoul on march 1 at which they denounced Japan's moves to tamper with history textbooks and declared that 400,000 educators would turn out in the struggle against the moves, according to Radio No. 1 from Seoul. An organization that sponsored the rally decided to give special lessons related to Japan's escalated moves to tamper with history textbooks and conduct a 10 million signature campaign and a campaign to boycott Japanese goods. A ceremony of burning a cut-out of a Japanese textbook was held at the rally.
Kyunghyang Daily News of South Korea on March 1 in an article titled "strongly react to distortion of history" said that resentment against Japan's distortion of textbooks should be expressed not in words only but by actions. The authorities should take such measures as revoking the policy for opening South Korea to Japanese culture and suspending all forms of ministerial talks and strengthen solidarity with those former colonies of Japan, it noted.
Pyongyang, March 4 (KCNA) -- An official document in which the Japanese government issued a general mobilization order to recruit Korean "student soldiers" in 1944 when Japan's defeat in the second world war was coming near was found for the first time, Yonhap News of South Korea reported. The document, sent by the vice-director of the Japanese headquarters for mobilization of students on may 4, 1944 to rectors of universities and principals of higher schools and teachers training schools, says that a main principle of enforcing mobilization of students was decided according to the emergency step taken under the situation called the pacific war and, accordingly, schools at all levels should mobilize students positively and courageously. Written in it are directives on forcible recruitment of Korean "student soldiers" including "pure and merry acception of mobilization". The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had preserved the document in top secrecy. Nam Hyon, director of the Institute of Korea-Japan Affairs in South Korea, recently obtained it from Japan and opened it to the public on Feb. 28.
Pyongyang, March 4 (KCNA) -- Protest campaigns against Japan's moves to distort history textbooks are being conducted among public circles of South Korea, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News. The "National Teachers Union" (Jongyojo) in a statement on Feb. 28 said that "we cannot repress wrath at the Japanese right-wing and government's attempt to tamper with history," and urged them to immediately stop the unreasonable act. On the same day, the promotion council for compensation to pacific war victims held a rally in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul together with some 90 members of the "South Korean measure council for volunteers' corps issue" and teachers under Jongyojo to protest against Japan's distortion of history textbooks and to commemorate the march first popular uprising.
Meanwhile, at least 1,500 members of over 20 organizations held a rally in Seoul and condemned Japan's distortion of history textbooks as a rash act to revive militarism and restore the idea of aggression and demanded a cancellation of opening the door for Japanese popular culture. An organization of retired teachers in a statement held that "the Japanese government should not help ultra-right organizations to tamper with history." The South Korean Confederation of Teachers' Organizations in a statement on Feb. 27 vowed to give special lessons related to Japan's hastening distortion of history textbooks and conduct ten million signature campaign and a drive to boycott Japanese goods.
Pyongyang, March 3 (KCNA) -- 60 civic and social organizations in Pusan on Feb. 27 formed all citizens' promotion committee for checking Japan's distortion of history and held a demonstration in front of the Japanese consulate general, according to Yonhap News from Seoul. The committee declared that it would dispatch a protest group and form a joint protest organization made up of mainly bereaved families of pacific war dead to conduct a powerful solidarity struggle if the distorted history books go through the examination.
It thrust to the Japanese consulate general a list of the names of the Japanese prime minister and 17 persons who are responsible for the edition of the distorted history books and who made reckless remarks and a notice to the effect that they would be considered as "persona non-grata" and if they come to South Korea "their safety will not be guaranteed."
Pyongyang, March 3 (KCNA) -- Historians from the north and the south of Korea who participated in the "north-south joint exhibition of data on the illegality of the Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea" and a symposium held in Pyongyang on the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the March First Popular Uprising issued a joint statement on Thursday assailing the Japanese authorities for their moves to tamper with history textbooks.
The statement said: Japan brutally killed innocent Koreans and plundered Korea of its spiritual and cultural treasures and resources lock, stock and barrel while enforcing a colonial rule over it after militarily occupying it. This is a universally recognized historical fact. Japan has so far worked hard to cover up its blood-stained criminal history in the 20th century, talking about "lawfulness" and "validity". And it has now entered into a practical stage of finally deleting the reference to their past aggression from the Japanese history textbooks.
The "society for preparing new history textbooks," an ultra-right reactionary organization, recently presented to the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science history textbooks in which it described the pacific war as a "war for the liberation of Asia" and the occupation of Korea as "justifiable annexation," making no mention about crimes committed by the Japanese imperialists in wars of aggression.
It also deleted references to the Japanese imperialists' aggression from other history textbooks presented to the ministry. The Japanese reactionaries' moves to tamper with history textbooks are an intolerable insult to the Korean nation and other Asian people and they reveal Japan's sinister intention to call back the departed soul of the Japanese militarists. All the historians in the north and the south vehemently denounce the Japanese reactionaries' brazen-faced moves to tamper with history and strongly urge them to immediately stop them and apologize to the Korean nation for them.
Pyongyang, March 2 (KCNA) -- A symposium of scholars of the north and the south on the illegality of the Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea was held here on Thursday. Present there were scholars in the field of social sciences of the north and historians from the south who came here to participate in the north-south joint exhibition of data. The symposium heard speeches made by scholars from the north and the south on the subjects of "Illegality of Japanese Imperialists' Occupation of Korea Proven by Data", "Historical Study of Japanese Imperialists' Criminal Aggression and Occupation of Korea ," "'South Korea -Japan Treaty' and Prospect of Signing Korea -Japan Treaty," "Illegality of Japan's 'Annexation' of Korea " and "Examination of Unreasonable Conclusion of Treaties Forced by Japan upon Korea from 1904 to 1910". The speakers accused Japan of craftily working to justify its aggression and occupation of Korea , talking about their "lawfulness" and "validity", and evade the responsibility for them.
They also cited historical facts to prove that the sheer illegality of the Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea can never be denied. They noted that the old "treaties" and "conventions" including "Ulsa five-point treaty," "Jongmi seven-point treaty" and "Korea -Japan annexation treaty" forced by the Japanese imperialists upon Korea were sheer fabrications. Dismissing the Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea as totally illegal, they urged the Japanese authorities to honestly repent of Japan's crime-woven past and make an apology and compensation for its crimes committed against the Korea n people.
Pyongyang, March 2 (KCNA) -- The north-south joint exhibition of data on the illegality of the Japanese imperialists' occupation of Korea opened at the grand people's study house in Pyongyang yesterday under the cosponsorship of the History Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences of the North and the Saun Institute of the South to mark the 82nd anniversary of the march first popular uprising, a nationwide anti-Japanese patriotic resistance. On display in the exhibition hall are at least 1,000 data on the Japanese imperialists' illegal occupation of Korea and the criminal colonial rule enforced by them.
Among them are an operation and action map used by the Japanese intruders during the Imjin Patriotic War (1592-1598) and other historical materials telling how the Japanese imperialists cooked up the "Unyo-Maru" incident, guided by the "theory of conquest of Korea ", forced Korea to sign the first shackling "Kanghwa islet treaty" and held the position to dominate Korea after the Qing-Japanese war, doing enormous harm to Koreans. Also on display are original copies of documents and records testifying to the fact that the Japanese imperialists fabricated the "Ulsa five-point treaty" and "Jongmi 7-point treaty" by militarily threatening the old Korea n government and historical materials telling how they forced the change of power upon the feudal government of the ri dynasty and disorganized the Korea n army to deprive Korea of her sovereign rights.
Exhibits there also include original copies of criminal documents including the "Japan-Korea annexation treaty" and a "telegram on annexation of Korea ," photos and publications and materials on the Japanese imperialists' crackdown upon the Korea n people's anti-Japanese movement for independence. Jong Chang Gyu, director of the History Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences, in an inaugural speech called on the people and historians in the north and the south to always heighten vigilance against the Japanese reactionaries' wrong attitude, roundly expose and denounce their past crimes and wage a nationwide joint struggle for Japan's apology and compensation. Ri Jong Hak, director of the Saun Institute of South Korea, in his speech said that the Japanese imperialists are responsible for the misfortune and sufferings the Korean nation is now undergoing. Ri Song Mu, chairman of the South Korean Committee for Editing the National History, in his speech called on the historians in the south and north to study, discuss and cooperate with each other to set right all the distorted aspects of the history of the Japanese imperialists' aggression of Korea.
Pyongyang, March 1 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary denounces the Japanese reactionaries for their moves to totally deny the aggression committed by the Japanese imperialists in the past. The "society for preparing new history textbooks," a Japanese ultra-right reactionary organization, in the new history textbooks for middle school described the aggressive pacific war unleashed by the Japanese imperialists in the past as a "war for greater east Asia to liberate colonies" and the occupation of Korea as "justifiable annexation for the security of Asia."
Recalling that the Japanese reactionaries have long sought to delete the reference to their past aggression from the history textbooks, the commentary says that even the word aggression is not used in the recently printed history textbooks. The Japanese reactionaries leave no means untried to imbue the younger generation with a wrong view on history. Their printing of distorted history textbooks is not a simple tampering with history. This is an insult to the Korean and other Asian peoples, victims of the Japanese imperialists' aggression in the past, and part of their ideological preparations for reinvasion. If these moves of the Japanese reactionaries are overlooked, they would launch reinvasion any time. The DPRK will heighten vigilance against this.
Pyongyang, December 26 (KCNA) -- The "Society to Make New History Textbook" made up of Japanese ultra right-wing elements published history textbooks describing "Japan's invasion of Asia as a liberation of it." In this regard a recent issue of the Japanese newspaper Akahata carried an article captioned "'Textbooks should not carry lies,' call of a historian and 60 educators." Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary dismisses the Japanese reactionaries' move to tamper with history as a crime, adding that it is only too natural that their moves arouse apprehension and come in for criticism even in Japan, to say nothing of the international community.
Noting that the Japanese imperialists' Asian aggression was an undeniable hideous crime, the commentary says: Lurking behind such moves is their sinister intention not to redress its criminal past but to repeat it. By teaching false history to the rising generation they seek to infuse the sense of "superiority of Yamado nation" and the awareness of war of aggression into them and drive them to overseas aggression. The Japanese reactionaries should discard their black-hearted aim sought in tampering with the history and repent of its past crimes and honestly own their responsibility for them.
Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- The 20th century is about to come to its end. At this historic turn of the century people retrospect the history of the world wars in the 20th century which brought greatest-ever disasters to humankind and most cruelly violated civilization and hope that there would be no such wars any more. At this moment, the international community is increasingly vigilant against Japan. This is due to its inglorious past and present and its untransparent future agenda.
In the first half of the century Japan killed tens of millions of Asians through wars of plunder and aggression and in its latter half it employed all sorts of gimmicks to keep its hideous crimes buried in oblivion of the history. It is none other than Japan which is about to greet a new century without liquidating its past crimes. The bitter Asian history of the 20th century started with the Japanese imperialists' military invasion of Korea. The Japanese imperialists, afraid of being embroiled in the scourge of a hopeless war if the Korean people rise up in anti-Japanese war of resistance, hatched the most wicked plot in the world history of diplomacy to topple the weak feudal government of Ri dynasty. That was the fabricated "Ulsa five-point treaty" and "Korea-Japan annexation treaty."
History records such examples as threatening other countries by force of arms to force them to sign shackling treaties but has never witnessed such despicable things done by Japan. It stole the official seal of a government institution of other country and forged the signature of its head of state to fabricate a treaty. After depriving Korea of its national rights by such a vicious method Japan enforced a colonial military fascist rule over it for over 40 years. In that period it kidnapped or took away over six million young and middle-aged Koreans to force them into medieval slave labor and killed millions of Koreans by the most cruel methods. The Japanese imperialists kidnapped nearly 200,000 Korean women in broad daylight and forced them into sexual slavery. Their brutal mass killings of those women in battle sites are still fresh in the memory of people as a horrible nightmare.
The international community hates Japan so much for its crimes related to the "comfort women for the army" because they were the most despicable and barbarous crimes against humanity. The Japanese authorities, proud of being an economic power, are showing their moneybags off everywhere they go. But there is a point at issue which should never go unnoticed. The point is with whose blood, sweat and wealth the foundation for the industrial progress of Japan which boasts of "high-rate growth" was laid. During Japan's rule over Korea over six million young and middle-aged people were taken to Japan to slave there. Japanese big businesses grew fat with the immeasurably precious treasures looted from Korea. The Japanese imperialists, not satisfied with the plunder of all the material and cultural properties of Korea including underground resources and cultural relics, took away even brass spoons and chopsticks from Korean families.
During the last Korean War which broke out in 1950 Japan raked up enormous profits in return for its direct involvement in the war and the offer of its whole territory to the U.S. armed forces as a logistic base. In fact, Japan's offer of its whole territory to the Korean people would not be enough to compensate for the human, material and cultural and spiritual and moral losses it brought to them for a century from early 20th century up to this date. But in Japan at the turn of the century there is a Samurai view of history that "there is no need to feel guilty for what was done in the past" and "it is possible to know the truth of history only 100 years later." And even arrogant remarks that the military fascist colonial rule over Korea was "legal" are heard from there.
Japanese right-wing forces' denial of their history of aggression and crimes is not simply attributable to Japan's deep-seated bad habits and shameless nature. This was prompted by their ambition and carefully arranged plan to repeat their past history any time at any cost and realize their old dream of "Greater East Asia Coprosperity sphere." Their other purpose is to evade the state compensation for Japan's crimes against humanity. The Japanese authorities have made a mockery of the international community with all sorts of wordplays for over 50 years since the end of World War II. They pretended to apologize for the crimes with the words "regret" and "repentance," but retracted them by saying "there is no need to make apology" and "what Japan did was legal."
Japan announced that it fully compensated to the south east Asian countries by giving them small "aid," grant or in the form of "loan." It dreamed up a poor case of "suspected kidnapping" in a bid to evade the apology and compensation to the Korean people and is about to see out the 20th century with its crimes unsettled, clamoring about "people's sentiment." This is a height of shamelessness and moral vulgarity of the Japanese authorities. The Japanese authorities are grossly mistaken if they think that they can erase unprecedented killings, rape, kidnapping and plunder committed by the Japanese imperialists against the Korean people by playing tricks over the issue of "a few persons missing".
Japan should be judged by justice and history. The history indicts Japan for its crimes. Japan is a war criminal state of the 20th century and the only "enemy state" which is going to greet the 21st century without settling its war crimes. The history of the 20th century will always curse disgraceful Japan which adamantly refuses to repent of the wrongs done for a century.