Japan Provides Additional Support Following 19 Cases Last Month
The government has additionally secured the victim list of the Ukishimamaru (浮島丸, hereafter Ukishima) incident, in which the ship carrying forced labor victims under Japanese rule in 1945 sank. The Japanese government provided the list again following last month.
On the 23rd, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it received 34 victim lists of the Ukishima ship from the Japanese side. The ministry explained, "As with the previously obtained materials, the government plans to utilize them for victim relief and uncovering the truth of the Ukishima incident through meticulous analysis."
Shim Gyu-seon, Chairman of the Foundation for the Support of Victims of Japanese Forced Mobilization, explaining the direction of the analysis of the passenger list of the Ukishima ship last September [Image source=Yonhap News]
Japan initially provided 19 out of a total of 75 secured documents on the 5th of last month, and after about a month, provided additional materials. The government will continue negotiations to receive the remaining documents.
The newly provided materials are similar in content to the 'boarding lists' and 'worker lists' received last month, reportedly containing details such as the birthdates and registered domiciles of those on board. Specific details and volume have not been confirmed.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is analyzing the 19 lists received in the first round through the Forced Labor Victims Support Foundation. This involves cross-referencing with existing victim reports and past victim lists to verify the number of passengers and deceased, as well as factual details. Due to the age and large volume of the materials, the process is expected to take considerable time.
Once the analysis is complete, the government plans to actively provide relief to victims by promoting reexamination (review) either upon application or ex officio for bereaved families whose past applications for compensation for forced labor damages were dismissed or rejected, based on the analyzed data.
Meanwhile, the Ukishima was a Japanese naval transport ship carrying Korean laborers forcibly conscripted and Korean residents in Japan who were trying to return home shortly after liberation. It departed from Ominato Port in Aomori Prefecture in August 1945 and was heading to Maizuru Port in Kyoto two days later when it sank due to an explosion in the lower part of the hull. At the time, Japan announced that the Ukishima struck an underwater mine and sank, resulting in 524 deaths out of approximately 3,700 passengers. However, bereaved families claim that Japan deliberately blew up the ship and that over 3,000 of the 7,500 to 8,000 passengers died.
The Japanese government had long claimed that no passenger list existed, but the existence of the list became known in May after Japanese journalist Fuse Yujin (布施祐仁) requested disclosure of information. Since then, Japan has faced demands for disclosure both domestically and internationally, and last month, the then Prime Minister Kishida Fumio provided part of the list to Korea the day before his visit.
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