YMCAKOREA

Declaration of Peace in East Asia by Citizens of Korea and Japan on the Centennial Anniversary of the March 1 Movement

For thousands of years, citizens of Korea and Japan have lived together, and will. Still, we deplore that due to unfortunate wrongdoings that have permiated throughout our modern history, we were not good neighbors. Such wrongdoings, however, did not prohibit the Japanese from enjoying Hallyu contents, or Koreans from entertaining Japaimes. Every year, 10 million Koreans and the Japanese people visit each other; their exchanges fill the sea between. Today, on the Centennial Anniversary of the March 1 Movement, reflecting on our historical past, recognizing the seriousness of the limitations of Korea-Japan relationship without voices and actions of their citizens, and realizing the acute need for steering the course of Korea-Japan relationship toward civil society-driven ones, we hereby declare our will that the civil societies of both countries must bear the burden they are meant to in the fullest possible manner.

The March 1 Movement was an independence movement against the harsh, cruel colonialism of Japan. The March 1 Movement overcame the exclusionary, violent nationalist framework to proclaim that Chosun must be the forerunner of Peaceful Asia in the post-World War I, new era of peaceful coexistence, and urged Japan to take an important role in the realization of Peaceful Asia. In world history, the March 1 Movement is the prototype of post-colonialism movements where the grassroot peace movement were pioneered progressively, continuously from below, by the citizens of colonies and semi-colonies, on the streets, on the plazas. It was a citizen-driven peace movement that far exceeded the lies and limitations of the Paris Conference. The March 1 Movement is a prototype, and the starting point of the Peace in the East.
Citizens of Japan now wish to take the hands of the citizens of Korea, the hands of peace, outstretched 100 years earlier, for the peace of Asia. And, we wish to grasp firmly this historical opportunity for peace that unfolds in front of our own eyes, and to firmly establish it as a reality. Citizens of Japan warmly congratulate the citizens of Korea that, despite hardships and difficulties, not only achieved independence, industrialization and democratization but also positioned their country as one of the leaders of the world peace movements.

Korea and Japan normalized their relationship with the Korea-Japan Treaty, which marked the beginning of the “65 Regime.” However, the Treaty of San Francisco — a part of the US strategy for the cold war — had sealed the “issue of the post-war compensation” off without any sincere regret or apology. After the end of the cold war, there were several statements and declarations with apologies and regrets on the damages suffered by Korea during colonialism: the Kono Statement of 1993, the Murayama Statement of 1995, the Declaration of Partnership between Korea and Japan by Daejoong Kim and Obuchi in 1998, and the Nahodo Statement of 2001. None, though, was underwritten by the resolution of the National Assembly of Japan, and no legislative measure has been made. After the democratization of Korea, Victims in Korea of the crimes of colonialism began raising the issue of the post-war damage compensations for the first time, including the “comfort women issue” and the “forced laborer issue.” The Japanese Government, however, maintained that the 1966 Accord on Claims had resolved all such issues and claims. Prime Minister Abe even vociferously blamed Korea of causing problems. Japanese Government has failed to acknowledge the “crimes during the colonial era” yet, and as a result, Korea and Japan are still trapped in the “65 Regime,” their respective citizens suffering from it, a legacy left over from the cold war era.

Now with the Cold War over, and with the civil society matured, a new ear calls for a new Korea-Japan relationship, a new system based on the civil societies of both. For the new Korea-Japan relationship to take root, the Government of Japan shall first acknowledge that, as the Joint Declaration of 1,000 Intellectuals of Korea and Japan of 2010 made clear, the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty, etc. were made possible only based on military force, coercion and violence, which had been null and void from the beginning as the Emperor of the Korean Empire had never signed them. 400 Chinese historians and 200 Western intellectuals have sponsored this joint declaration. We again declare that we support the Joint Declaration of 1,000 Intellectuals of Korea and Japan of 2010. We propose that firmly based on the historical awareness that underlies the joint declaration, the civil societies of Korea and Japan will evolve further to support and respect human rights.

Based on the experience of the large scale human rights violations by Nazi Germany and Japanese Militarism, the international community has announced the World Human Rights Declaration of 1948, and has established the international human rights regime. We firmly believe that solutions for the comfort women- and forced laborer-related issues will materialize when the victims’ situations and feelings are scrutinized diligently, focusing on the human rights issues. So many have suffered from the colonialism, but the Koreans in Japan and the Japanese in Korea tried hard to bridge the positions of Korea and Japan after the liberation of Korea, contributing greatly to the realization of the societies centered around coexistence and harmony.

The constitutions are the basis on which the civil societies of Korea and Japan stand. The Preamble to the Constitution of Korea declares that the country is premised on the “spirit of the March 1 Movement” and the April 19 Democracy Movement that toppled Seung Man Rhee Regime, and pursues the “Democratic Republic.” Modern Korea is based on the resistance to Japanese Colonialism and dictatorship. On the other hand, Preamble to the Constitution of Japan states that the country has resolved “to ensure that no disaster of war strikes due to action of the government,” clarifying that the post-war Japan originated from the regret for the aggressive wars and the confrontation with the evils of the colonialism. Experiences in Korea and the origin of modern day Japan cannot stand apart from each other. Also, the ideas expressed in the constitutions of Japan and Korea both share common grounds with the international human rights laws: all of them embody general, noble ideals. We also confirm that the ideals expressed by the March 1 Movement form the basis, the historical prototype of the ideas resonated by the two constitutions and the international human rights laws, and that they serve as the groundwork on which the idea of the peace for the East Asia is built.

Denuclearized peace in Korea and East Asia must be preceded by the firm establishment of the system and the guarantee that victims of the war and oppression, particularly the victims of the nuclear bombing, must be saved from their trauma and be guaranteed that such tragedies will not be repeated. Japan has experienced the distress of nuclear attacks and now has a peace constitution; the country has a duty, rather a mission to lead denuclearization and peace in East Asia. If the denuclearization of Japan and Mongol (effective from 2000) are followed by the nuclear-free South and North Korea, then we will have a solid basis to demand to China and Russia for the creation of the nuclear-free Northeast Asia. And, linking with the Denuclearization Treaty of the Southeast Asia, which became effective in 1997, we can achieve the nuclear-free East Asia. We will strive to expand Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan to the international arena to realize the “denuclearized world.”
Japan, however, is voicing out, along with the United States of America, to amend the Constitution, to become a country “capable of warfare,” denying the country’s starting point after the War. Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, which denounced not only war but also ownership of arms, is a more certain, more realistic measure to guarantee the country’s security. Should the Peace Constitution be amended for the worse, East Asia will become a region of vicious cycle of expansion of military armaments and nuclear weapons, of hostile coexistence and outlived old regimes.

We expect this be achieved through inter-country, inter-government exchange and cooperation among ASEAN countries, but cannot be optimistic that this will happen. Mega-powers and mega-capitals, in alliance with media under the influence of the governments, have conspired to stir nationalism and ethnocentrism through “antagonism,” forcing citizens to blindly follow the powers, reversing the progress of history, conquering the world and threatening democracy. Antagonistic mutual dependency spreads among East Asian countries, consolidating conservative, even reactionary political forces.

Abe Regime has taken citizens of Japan prisoners of historical, geopolitical, military nationalism by glorifying the Militant Japan that murdered 3.1 million in Japan and 20 million in Asia as a “Beautiful Country,” distorting historical facts through the so-called Historical Revisionism and trying to amend the Peace Constitution for the worse. Extreme conservatism of Japan is turning Japan the worst nation of hate speeches, trying thereby to win their justification through “Antagonism” and “Bedeviling of Enemies.”
East Asia, thanks to the rapid economic growth, now is the hometown of about 1.4 billion middle classes and 1.6 billion “smart” citizens. Should they grow to be the “awakened” citizens that widen and deepen “befriending” citizens of neighboring countries, Asia will become Asia for the Citizens. A new platform of Asia must be created through mutual check and balance between governments and citizens.

March 1 Movement is a peace revolution, led and organized directly by citizens. Kant’s Theory of Perpetual Peace, which inspired not only self-determinism of nations but also the League of Nations, is a theory of indirect peace, where the citizens elect representatives through votes to create governments, which in turn realize peace through peaceful diplomacy. The United Nations is also an embodiment of the idea. The Berlin Wall was also dismantled by the direct uprising of citizens of the East Berlin, which proclaimed “Wir sind das Volk (We are the People).” The Candle Revolution of Korea, too, changed the torrents of history and ushered in the era of denuclearization of Korea and the peace mood between the South and North Koreas, through direct participatory movements of citizens. There have been movements to form alliances between organizations of Korea that led the Candle Revolution and organizations of Japan such as the “Article 9 Federation” and the “Executive Committee of the Total Action” which aims to achieve post-war damage compensations, denuclearization, and opposition to nuclear power plants. Accumulated experiences and alliances of peace movements where citizens directly participate in and act are the shortest path to Asia for Citizens.

We, the citizens of Japan and Korea, hereby jointly declare to take the first step toward the “Platform for Peace” in order to pass down to our descendants an Asia of mutual reconciliation and coexistence, and a nuclear-free Asia, through mutual alliance and joint actions.

March 1, 2019

Declared by Participants in the Declaration for the Peace in the East Asia by Citizens of Korea and Japan