Diary shows rare account of Koreans in 1923 Tokyo quake

Japanese mobs accused Koreans of poisoning wells and setting fires following the 8.3-magnitude quake on Sept. 1, 1923. More than 140,000 people were killed in the quake and subsequent fires while historians estimate that 6,000-10,000 Koreans died, many in the ensuing violence.

Little has been written about the attacks, but a diary by Utao Watanabe, an assemblyman in Tsurumi, near Tokyo, said rumors were spreading about “a gang of Koreans looting across the town and killing Japanese who resisted,” the Mainichi newspaper reported.

Watanabe concluded that the rumors were baseless and demanded that the local police chief expel Koreans from the town for their safety.

“It was extremely foolish of us to allow the groundless rumors to cost the lives of many Koreans and throw ourselves into a panic. We should be ashamed of it,” the Mainichi quoted Watanabe as saying in the diary.

The book was recently found when Watanabe’s 74-year-old grandson was cleaning the house.

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