Tokyo, Sept. 27–28 — A global festival at the Sumitomo Building plaza in Shinjuku featured a booth by the group Mamoru Kai (“Association to Protect the Lives and Human Rights of Returnees to North Korea”). The group has long campaigned to reveal the truth behind the so-called “repatriation ships” that carried more than 93,000 ethnic Koreans in Japan — and their Japanese spouses — to North Korea between 1959 and the mid-1980s.
At the booth, visitors found photos, DVDs, and books such as What Was the Repatriation Project? and Bird, Lend Me Your Wings: Bring Back the Japanese Wives. These materials document how returnees were lured by propaganda, only to face political repression, confiscation of property, forced labor, and even disappearances once in North Korea. Many Japanese wives and children vanished without trace, leaving devastated families behind in Japan.
DVD with stories of human rights victims on the return ship of the Korean Federation of Japan (Chongryon, very pro-North Korean organization) sold by Mamorukai (Protection Association) Miura Kotarou, a prominent anti-totalitarian human rights activist and writer in Japan, was the commentator. / Photo = Facebook of Yamashita Shigeko, Director of Mamoru-kai
A Dark History of Deception and Abuse
Although returnees technically boarded the ships voluntarily, in reality many were pressured by discrimination in Japan, family ties in North Korea, or false hopes of a better life under socialism. Once inside the Kim Il Sung regime, however, they faced poverty, surveillance, and purges. Some were sent to prison camps, while others were relocated to remote provinces. Lawsuits have been filed by survivors who managed to escape, but countless others remain unaccounted for.
Civil Society Keeps the Issue Alive
Japanese civic groups and intellectuals have persistently raised this issue, though it has received little attention in South Korea due to historical sensitivities in Korea–Japan relations. While North Korea never apologized for its abuses, Japan has repeatedly expressed remorse for its colonial past. Advocates stress that human rights must transcend ideology: the suffering of displaced Koreans, Japanese wives, and their descendants cannot be ignored.
A book about the stories of human rights victims on the return ship of Chongryon sold in Mamoru-kai (Protection Association) / Photo = Facebook of Yamashita Shigeko, Director of Mamoru-kai
Implications for Korea and Japan Today
Commentators argue that resolving this historical injustice is essential for genuine future-oriented Korea–Japan ties. South Korea’s government has been criticized for downplaying North Korean human rights issues, while Japan and international organizations call for stronger action, including investigations, official demands for accountability, and humanitarian support for victims’ families.
The Shinjuku event was co-sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA, and major international organizations such as UN Women, UNHCR, UNICEF, and the OECD Tokyo Center. Organizers hope renewed attention will pressure both Seoul and Pyongyang to address the fate of the repatriation victims and restore dignity to those lost in history.
※ This article was translated into English with the assistance of ChatGPT. If you find any errors, please contact the Freedom Chosun editorial team at mkdkq7@gmail.com