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Ethnic Koreans in Japan exposed to growing hatred

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Yeo Geo-ni, the chief of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, speaks during an interview held at its headquarters, Tokyo, Thursday. / Joint Press Corps
Yeo Geo-ni, the chief of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, speaks during an interview held at its headquarters, Tokyo, Thursday. / Joint Press Corps

By Park Ji-won, Joint Press Corps

Ethnic Koreans in Japan are being exposed to growing hatred amid rocky Korea-Japan relations, according to Yeo Geo-ni, chief of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (KRUJ), the largest ethnic Korean organization in Japan.

Yeo said that "hate speech" was spreading online as well as in street protests by Japanese far right activists.

"The hate speech against us has increased a little bit. A large majority of it is on social media," Yeo said during a meeting with Korean reporters based in Japan, Thursday.

When discussing right wing organizations' rallies at KRUJ events, Yeo referred to the police presence outside noting it was needed as the protesters "come every week, even on weekends."

His remarks came amid strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo after South Korea's top court ordered a Japanese steel firm, two months ago, to compensate Korean defendants for their forced labor during colonial rule. Tokyo went all-out to condemn the decision saying it was against the 1965 treaty that established diplomatic relations between the two countries. The South Korean Prime Minister expressed "regret" over Japan's move.

Regarding the court decision, he urged the government to more actively negotiate with Japan to improve the situation based on the treaty, while saying it should take a "cool-headed" approach.

"I feel sorry for the victims. But even though it is a bad treaty, a country should have negotiations and make progress based on it. Japan might think the South Korean government ignores diplomacy if the court acts like there is no such treaty."

Yeo pointed out that Japanese students are not taught about Korean history at school and cited this as a possible reason for the hate speech.

"Ordinary citizens don't know. They just think Koreans are making a fuss about it. There is hate speech and we receive threatening calls to the consulate general in Sendai."

"The comfort woman issue is the same. We have a painful history. Victims remember everything. But perpetrators forget."

However, citing the hate speech law proclaimed in 2016, "Japanese people have a conscience. Japanese police officers have protected us when others have made hate speeches."




Park Ji-won jwpark@koreatimes.co.kr


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