뉴스레터

“The plaintiff’s brother, Nam Dae-hyun, was born on May 20, 1923; he was forced into the Army in 1942, and died on 10 August 1944 in New Guinea. He was improperly enshrined inside the Tokyo War Shrine in April 1959 without notice to his bereaved family.”

I am in this courtroom with the desperation to remove my brother’s name from TWS, who was forced to mobilize in the invasion war committed by Japanese Imperialism. My brother was mobilized by Japanese army in 1942, after graduating from high school. He is the succeeding grandson of the head family. So my brother hastened to marry to have a child to keep a family line, but soon he was forced to mobilize. There were two other people in the village who were mobilized besides my brother. The road of the village was covered with a flag that meant 'to leave bravely and vigorously'.

My mother was sick when her son was mobilized to the battlefield. My family was confused. My sisters and I were so scared of the atmosphere that I could not even stay next to the adults. We were just being quiet. After that, a letter from my brother was delivered, and I can not remember anything except that he is in South Sea Islands. But the letter was also burned during the Korean War. Now, there is only one picture of my brother wearing a military uniform. My brother who sat on the floor of the old house and played the accordion, remains in my memory.

After liberation, the other two who were mobilized by the Japanese at the same time as my brother came back. But my brother never came back, and I couldn’t hear about him. My grandfather scolded my father. He said, “You let Japan force your son to mobilize.” My father had to live his whole life as a sinner. How sad was the heart of the father who sent his child to the battlefield.

My grandmother died of illness after sending her son to war. That was 1946. Eventually, my grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother all died without hearing about my brother. My brother was hope and happiness for my family. He would have felt unfair, and the situation of my father and grandfather is unfortunate. I feel heartbroken when I think of my mother who died while missing my brother. And here I am, who had to spend my childhood without my mother.

I started working for the victims' group more than a decade ago to check whether my brother was dead or alive. And in May 2003, with the help of a group, I was able to find a record of my brother. According to it, he was drafted into the South Sea Islands and was shot and killed on August 10, 1944 in Yakamur, New Guinea. But the shocking fact was that his remain was enshrined in TWS. The Japanese government had a record of my brother's death. But they didn't tell my family about it.

I checked the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare records in December 2006. They sent me a record of my brother’s unit, the date of conscription, the date of his death, and the amount of deposit on January 30, 2007. There was no record of his ashes. I requested a confirmation letter from TWS. And I got a document with an enshrined date. The Japanese government did not inform my family even though there was such a record. My family was sick with my brother's death report without knowing whether he was dead or alive.

Japan has put my family in misery. We had to spend a painful day due to separation. But how can I forgive the Japanese government? Every time I think about my brother, I feel angry and unhappy and I feel crazy.

TWS is a symbol of militarism, a place that justifies and glorifies the war of aggression. The fact that my brother is enshrined there is really shocking and unforgivable. The Japanese government did not notify my family of my brother's death, and enshrined him inside the TWS. They are deceiving and blaspheming us. I feel an unbearable anger every time I see the Japanese politicians, including the prime minister, visiting the TWS.

In 2012, I went to New Guinea in the South Pacific, where my brother was mobilized and died. It hurt my heart to think that my brother was mobilized to a distant place and died in the battlefield while suffering. It seemed that his soul was wandering somewhere. There I set up a ceremonial table with my heart and called my brother. But there was no answer, just a quiet silence. That day, I vowed to take my brother's name out of TWS. I want to go see my brother again someday. I want to find my brother's ashes buried in the faraway foreign land, without anyone looking for him. I am going to build a monument in front of the grave of my parents who died of sadness. And I want to get my brother's name out of TWS and liberate him.

I want to ask Japan why my brother's remains are not there, and whether they have investigated my brother. If they are human and if they have conscience, they should apologize. They should be sorry for mobilizing my brother in war, enshrineing him in TWS at their own discretion. They have to answer the voices of the bereaved families who lost their loved ones because of Japan. The Japanese government must answer truthfully and sincerely. I will fight until the day I take my brother's name out of TWS. I would like to ask you to make the right judgment so that I can find my right as a family.