Japanese Social Democratic Party: "Japanese Government Must Provide Ukishimaho Passenger List to Korea"

Thousands of Korean Victims Reported

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Japanese Social Democratic Party, urged the Japanese government on the 4th to provide the passenger list of the Ukishima Maru (浮島丸, hereafter Ukishima), which is known to have sunk by explosion shortly after Korea's liberation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Korean passengers, according to Kyodo News.

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Japan. (left).
[Photo by Xinhua News Agency] [Image source: Xinhua Yonhap News]

At a press conference that day, Fukushima stated this and explained that she would visit Korea from the 11th to exchange opinions with Korean lawmakers regarding the provision of the list.

Prior to the press conference, she had consulted with officials from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the issue of providing the list, but the Japanese government reportedly did not clearly state its position, only saying it would "respond sincerely."

Until now, the Japanese government had claimed that the passenger list was lost due to the sinking of the Ukishima, but recently disclosed three lists in response to a freedom of information request by a Japanese journalist.

The sections of the lists recording occupations, names, dates of birth, and registered domiciles were redacted for privacy protection reasons.

However, the Japanese government maintains that the disclosed lists are not official passenger lists under the law, but rather records of people who were scheduled to board.

Following the disclosure of the lists, a Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety official in charge of repatriating the remains of victims of forced labor under Japanese colonial rule said, according to the Tokyo Shimbun last month, that "related materials have been requested from the Japanese side through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

The Ukishima Maru was a Japanese Navy transport ship carrying Koreans residing in Japan who were trying to return home shortly after liberation in 1945, heading to Busan.

It departed from Ominato Port in Aomori Prefecture on August 22, 1945, and on the 24th, while attempting to call at Maizuru Port in Kyoto, an explosion occurred in the lower part of the hull, causing it to sink.

Japan announced that the Ukishima Maru was sunk by hitting an underwater mine, and that among approximately 3,700 passengers, 524 Koreans were victims.

However, Korean survivors and bereaved families claim that Japan deliberately blew up the ship and that among the 7,500 to 8,000 passengers, thousands of Koreans were killed, demanding that the Japanese government investigate the truth.