[KS] Korean conscripts list found

[Carl Webb]

http://www.ryukyushimpo.co.jp/english/enews/e990705.htm#enews_1

Korean conscripts list found

 The Ryukyu Shimpo has obtained a copy of a list of 2,815 Korean soldiers forcibly brought to Okinawa by the Japanese Imperial Army. 
The information is part of a larger list of former soldiers from Korea that the Japanese authorities handed over to the South Korean government after the end of World War II.

The list was originally discovered in South Korean government archives, following investigations by a group representing the bereaved kin of Korean soldiers killed while fighting in the Japanese wartime military. It was in good condition despite the passage of time. 

According to the list, a total of 2,815 Korean soldiers were brought to these islands. Following the Battle of Okinawa, 273 were listed as casualties, 650 as survivors and 1,872 as missing in action, presumably killed. 

A number of the soldiers are subsequently marked as having deserted, which would seem to confirm suspicions that they were forced to serve in Okinawa. 

The original of the list is presently in the hands of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, which has kept it secret. 

At the Peace Prayer Memorial Park in Itoman City, the Cornerstone of Peace, the monument to those killed in the Battle of Okinawa, bears the names of only 454 Korean soldiers. It is now clear that the actual number of fatalities is many times that figure, which was based on information released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. 

The bereaved kin have requested the Japanese government to clarify whether the Korean soldiers were paid in full for their military service. They plan to file a lawsuit against the government if such is not the case.(June 22 am ed) 

(Caption)The list of Korean soldiers forcibly brought to Okinawa in WW II.



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