People mourn for Chinese victims of 1923 earthquake massacre during a ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 4, 2017. Nearly 100 people attended a ceremony on Monday to commemorate the Chinese victims of a massacre in which over 6,000 Koreans and 700 Chinese were killed following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 struck Japan's Kanto area on Sept. 1, 1923, causing over 140, 000 people casualties. In the violence after the quake fanned by Japanese militarists, over 6,000 Korean and 700 Chinese laborers and students living in Japan were brutally killed. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
TOKYO, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 100 people attended a ceremony on Monday to commemorate the Chinese victims of a massacre in which over 6,000 Koreans and 700 Chinese were killed following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
Tian Peiliang, political counselor of the Chinese embassy in Japan, said in a speech at the ceremony that the Chinese victims, though having survived the quake, were brutally killed in the massacre afterwards, and part of the history has been covered up in Japan for a long time.
It is hoped that Japan could face up to the history in a right way, properly handle the problems left over by history and take concrete actions to shoulder its political and moral obligations, Tian said.
Mizuho Fukushima, deputy head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan, said that many Chinese and Korean laborers were brutally killed after the Great Kanto Earthquake, and the Japanese society shall face up to that part of history and address the historical problems through apologizing and providing compensations.
She said that she was sorry to see hatred speeches and crimes become more and more severe nowadays in Japan, and she hopes Japan could make efforts to build a peaceful society without prejudice.
Huang Aisheng, representative of relatives of the Chinese victims, said that the Japanese government should acknowledge the historical truth about the massacre and apologize to the Chinese victims and their relatives and provide compensations.
He also called on the Japanese government to build a monument and a memorial hall at the site where the massacre happened and pass on the truth to the younger generation, including writing the massacre into textbooks.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 struck Japan's Kanto area on Sept. 1, 1923, causing over 140, 000 people casualties.
In the violence after the quake fanned by Japanese militarists, over 6,000 Korean and 700 Chinese laborers and students living in Japan were brutally killed.
