Photo/Illutration Participants pray on Sept. 1 at a Tokyo park for the Koreans who were killed in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. (Ryosuke Yamamoto)

This is an age in which, on one hand, groundless information and lies spread over social media, while on the other, there is growing anti-foreigner sentiment.

As such, it is the responsibility of political leaders to remember the historical fact that rumors cost the lives of many people and to reconfirm the lessons that remain relevant today.

Immediately after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the rumor spread amid the general confusion that Koreans were poisoning wells. Subsequently, Koreans and Chinese were killed by vigilante bands made up of ordinary citizens as well as by the military and police.

A report issued by the government’s National Disaster Management Council said about the spread of rumors in 1923 “information was spread through a scattering among a large number of independent groups that became intertwined and some information became so radical as to be beyond control.”

Can we say with confidence that it was an incident from more than 100 years ago and that similar things will not occur today?

There is no end to the words and deeds that hurt the dignity of foreigners and seek to force them to leave Japanese society.

False information in cyberspace attempts to tie foreigners with an increase in crime.

The danger has only increased because we live in an age in which the speed and ability to spread rumors has increased due to social media.

Moreover, during times of natural disasters people are more likely to believe groundless rumors out of fear or concerns. The triggering of subliminal prejudicial sentiment could lead to mass action.

That is one bitter lesson from the Great Kanto Earthquake.

During the recent major earthquake in Kumamoto, there were a number of baseless posts on social media that said looting and robbery would begin unless foreigners were forced out of Kumamoto.

A memorial ceremony was held in Tokyo on Sept. 1 for the Korean victims, but once again Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike did not send a message of condolence.

The ceremony began in 1974 and all past Tokyo governors sent such messages. However, Koike has not done so from the year after she became governor.

In explaining why she has not sent a message for 10 consecutive years, Koike said that a major memorial ceremony sponsored by the Tokyo memorial association commemorates all those who died.

But those who were massacred cannot be considered at the same level as those who were victims of an unavoidable natural disaster.

Rather than remain silent, Koike should continue to remember historical facts and demonstrate her will to never repeat such a tragedy as well as to reflect on the unfortunate chain of events that was brought about by the failure of the administrative branch to act swiftly.

There were many people who said they attended this year’s ceremony for the first time.

One said, “I want to acknowledge the lessons by knowing the facts,” while another said, “I want the governor to transmit a message of condolence.”

Such voices should be used by political leaders especially now when there has been a strengthening of social division and concerns of xenophobia.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 2

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