Us-Japan-North Korea Security Relations: Irrepressible Interests by Anthony DiFilippo

Author:Anthony DiFilippo [DiFilippo, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Security (National & International), Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780415723954
Google: wVOAnQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 18090637
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2011-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

5 Caught in the crossfire

North Korean loyalists in Japan

From the time that the first Koreans came to Japan more than 100 years ago until today, the Japanese have treated them as less than equal. Having this ethnocentric perspective many years ago helped make Tokyo’s annexation of the Korean Peninsula easier to justify. Concomitant to the creation of the two Koreas after the Second World War, zainichi Koreans (long-term residents of Japan) developed divergent political allegiances. Many zainichi Koreans supported the South Korean government, while many others believed that the communist North best reflected their interests and concerns.

Japan and South Korea eventually established diplomatic relations in December 1965. However, Cold War politics kept Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on opposite sides of the political fence, thus putting the prospect of a normalized relationship far out of reach. Still opposed to complete assimilation in Japanese society, zainichi chōsenjin identify themselves as overseas or Korean nationals of the DPRK. Because of their financial and political support of the DPRK, Pyongyang has monitored the treatment of zainichi chōsenjin in Japan.

A brief history

The Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945 created enduring problems for zainichi Koreans, some of whom had actually migrated to Japan in the late 1800s. During the colonial period, Koreans came to Japan for one of two reasons. Because the Japanese had appropriated so much of the land on the peninsula, some Koreans migrated to Japan seeking a better life. Later, some Koreans were forced to come to Japan to satisfy the demand there for cheap labor created by the Japanese involvement in the Second World War. Female Koreans were also brought to Japan. Some female Koreans in Japan were industrial laborers. Most juugun ianfu (enslaved prostitutes) or comfort women, who were mainly Korean females, satisfied the sexual desires of Japanese troops in other countries during Japan’s imperialist crusade. However, some of the comfort women served male Korean workers in Japan while others satisfied the sexual desires of the Japanese military in the homeland, including Okinawa. Tokyo maintained a forced assimilation policy for zainichi Koreans, requiring them to become Japanese citizens and select Japanese names. After the Second World War, the Japanese government designated Koreans living in Japan as foreigners, which meant they lost their citizenship rights, including the right to vote, though they were still considered Japanese nationals. Immediately after the Occupation ended in April 1952, the Japanese government abrogated the Japanese nationality for Koreans.1 Although the Japanese government did allow zainichi to submit application material for citizenship, relatively few did this during the 1950s.2

When the Second World War ended, there were approximately 2.4 million Koreans living in Japan. Because many returned to southern parts of Korea in 1946 with the help of Choryon (the League of Koreans), their numbers were significantly reduced to between 600,000 and 700,000 by the year’s end.3 According to the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, commonly known as Chongryon4 in Korean and Chosen Soren in Japanese, and

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