Kantō Massacre

“	In the vicinity of Oshima, Tokyo, a large number of Koreans and Chinese are sneaking into empty houses and looting them, and the socialists are not only trying to incite the Koreans and Chinese to fight against the Japanese and cause a riot of officials and residents, but they are also singing revolutionary songs as they hear the cries of many victims. The anger of the citizens has reached its peak.	„
	~ Shimono Newspaper's propaganda

Kantō Massacre (Japanese: 関東大震災朝鮮人虐殺事件) is a massacre that arose from the chaos of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. A large number of Korean, Chinese misidentified as Korean, handicapped people, Japanese living in other regions, anarchists and socialists were murdered by government officials and vigilantes. The death toll is estimated to be around 6,000, and it can be said that this was a massacre instigated by many propaganda organizations that took advantage of the disaster.

Background

In 1923, the Kantō region was devastated by an earthquake, and public sentiment and order were in a state of chaos. At that time, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed police stations in various areas that "Koreans taking advantage of the confusion are planning violent crimes and riots, so please be careful. At this point, it was just a notice that Koreans might do this, but as this information spread through government agencies and newspapers, falsehoods were added to the information, and eventually, when newspapers and other media began to report aggressively on Koreans and socialists, Koreans, Chinese mistaken for Koreans, handicapped people, Japanese living in other regions, anarchists and socialists were killed all over the Kanto region.

Vigilantes and Special Higher Police

The vigilantes who participated in the massacre were mainly civilians armed with bamboo spears, Japanese swords, and guns, who killed Koreans and even Japanese. They were involved in many incidents, including the "Kemigawa Incident," in which people from Okinawa, Akita, and Mie prefectures were killed; the "Tsumanuma Incident," in which people from Akita were killed; and the "Fukuda Village Incident," in which nine members of a family from Kagawa were killed. Special Higher Police have also killed socialists and anarchists.

Reactions of Security Authorities

The security authorities cracked down on rioters, clashed with rioters with casualties, protected some 226 Koreans in Yokohama at the Army Artillery, and opened a temporary treatment center.

About Number of casualties

As for the number of victims, it is estimated to be at least several thousand, and there are currently 318 clear cases of murder. A list of 290 Koreans who were victims of the earthquake in November 2013 was discovered. The number of victims of the massacre clearly identified by the Korean government was estimated at 40.

Why the crowd believed

The Japanese government at the time was wary of the resistance of some of the populace to independence movements in these governing territories because of its experience in suppressing independence movements in Korea and large-scale demonstrations in Taiwan that had occurred before the earthquake. In Japan, the Taisho Democracy led to the revitalization of socialist resistance and empowerment movements against the ruling power, such as the labor, civil rights, and women's movements, as well as the disruption of Japanese society and the growing momentum for independence of the governing territories, such as the Februally 26 Incident and May 15 Incident. In addition, the conflict between the United Kingdom and the United States and the failure of the invasion of Siberia led to a deepening of international isolation, and the Great Kanto Earthquake was finishing off to this situation.

With the suspension of civil and political freedoms in the affected areas of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba until November 15, when martial law was lifted, false rumors about socialists and Koreans began to emerge in Tokyo, Yokohama and other areas after September 1. Some of these hoaxes were spread by the police and military. These reports and hearsay rumors made the people uneasy, and they formed vigilante groups in many places. Some of these vigilantes were killing Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. The army and police took advantage of this chaos to plot the elimination of socialists and anarchists. This is how the Amakasu Incident and the Kameida Incident occurred.

After

This massacre is considered such a horrific event that it appears in Japanese history textbooks today. During the Kumamoto earthquake that occurred on April 14, 2016, some people posted a false rumor on Twitter that Koreans threw poison into a well, which later turned out to be a hoax spread for pleasure purposes. In addition, the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, a political group that has raised issues with contemporary Japanese history textbooks, justifies the massacre.