[We Met, and Now We Are Healing Together]
Interview with Ahn Hae-ryong and Ito Takashi

 

Ahn Hae-ryong

What made you start covering the issues regarding the forced mobilization of Koreans, soldiers and military workers, ‘Comfort Women’, etc.?

Ito Takashi

At first, I was interested in the issues centered on atomic bomb victims. While initially covering the Japanese atomic bomb victims from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I was extremely shocked to learn that Korean people were also exposed to the radiation. No one had taught me about this. I had visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki several times, but I had no knowledge of the Korean atomic bomb victims. When I learned of it by chance, I made a promise to myself that I would cover this issue when the opportunity arose. I first covered the Korean atomic bomb victims living in Japan, and I also met those in South Korea. My relationship with South Korea thus began through the many aspects of the coverage of this work.

Ahn Hae-ryong

Then, what kind of coverage did you work on after covering the Korean atomic bomb victims?

Ito Takashi

When I was covering the atomic bomb victims, I learned that many South Koreans had suffered painful distress during the Japanese colonial period. So, I covered the stories of the South Korean people who fell victim to the forced mobilization in Sakhalin but never returned to Korea. Afterwards, I often visited South Korea to meet with the various people who fell victim to forced mobilization.

Ahn Hae-ryong

What made you choose to cover the stories of the ‘Comfort Women’ issue?

Ito Takashi

In October 1991, I met Kim Hak-sun, who testified for the first time under her real name about the damage suffered by the ‘Comfort Women’. I thought this was the problem of the Japanese Army’s sexual slavery. So since 1991, I have been continuously covering this issue by collecting newspaper clippings and so on.

Ahn Hae-ryong

You reportedly even visited North Korea to expand on your coverage. What was the reason for your visit to North Korea?

Ito Takashi

In South Korea, I covered the victims of forced mobilization, soldiers and military workers, and the women who became sex slaves for the Japanese Army. Outside of South Korea, I went to the Philippines, Indonesia, and other Southeast Asian countries to cover the stories of the victims of war by Japan. By covering the stories that I discovered in those places, I strove to cover everything within the scope of my thinking. The only place I could not reach was North Korea. I applied in 1991, and the following year, I heard that a group investigating the forced mobilization etc. was visiting North Korea. I participated in that group and went to North Korea for the first time in 1992. I met about 10 ‘Comfort Women’ victims, along with the victims of forced mobilization. However, I remained deeply unsatisfied as I was only given the opportunity to spend little time covering them. Of course, I wanted to carry out proper coverage once again, and this prompted me to go to North Korea alone for the first time in 1998.

 

 

Ahn Hae-ryong

What stories did you cover on your second visit to North Korea?

Ito Takashi

In Pyongyang and Wonsan, I covered the surviving ‘Comfort Women’ victims, the victims of forced mobilization, the soldiers and military workers who were taken to the front lines, and the Buddhists and Christians who experienced religious suppression.

Ahn Hae-ryong

Who was the most impressive person that you met during your coverage? Or, where was the most impressive place you visited during your coverage?

Ito Takashi

At the time, the people I met most frequently were the surviving ‘Comfort Women’ victims. They rarely met face to face with Japanese people after liberation. Many of them expressed to me their own resentment in an extremely blunt manner, as I was the first Japanese person they had met in decades. They severely questioned me about the fact that I was Japanese and that I was also a man. Listening to them was incredibly uncomfortable for me as a man to the point where I just wanted to get away from them. However, thinking that I had to accept it appropriately, I covered their stories until the end, but throughout it remained remarkably distressing.

Ahn Hae-ryong

What was the North Korean government officials’ position on the ‘Comfort Women’ victims?

Ito Takashi

The North Korean government officials who used to meet with the victims on a daily basis offered interpretation. Sometimes, women provided interpretation. As they listened to and interpreted the wretched experiences suffered by the surviving ‘Comfort Women’ victims for me, their own genuine sadness and anger were communicated to me. The interpreters' own emotions were also conveyed to me. I became acutely aware that not only the victims themselves, but also the women of the younger generation, were feeling extremely miserable about it.

Ahn Hae-ryong

When you met the North Korean victims, did you notice any difference between them and the South Korean victims?

Ito Takashi

I did not feel anything was particularly different with regard to the testimony of the North Korean victims because I heard a lot of stories from the South Korean ‘Comfort Women’ victims. However, the South Korean and North Korean victims were subtly different in terms of the areas they were taken to by the Japanese Army. Most of the North Korean victims were taken to Manchuria or mainland China, while many South Korean victims were taken to the south, such as Taiwan, Myanmar, etc.

Ahn Hae-ryong

Was there anyone among the North Korean ‘Comfort Women’ victims who left an impression on you?

Ito Takashi

I was impressed by Chung Ok-soon whom I met in 1998. When I met her for the first time, I noticed she was wearing a veil over her head. I immediately thought she was a very stylish grandmother. However, I soon realized that she wore it to hide the scar on her head. The Japanese Army had tattooed her entire body. The soldiers tattooed her body when she was caught trying to escape from the comfort station with other women. His chest, belly, and even the inside of her mouth were covered with unrecognizable tattoos that looked like the scribbles of a child. She confessed to me all about her harsh experiences that she had long kept inside her heart. I found that I was unable to utter a single word as I listened to her. She talked to me, a Japanese person before her eyes, as if she was dispelling at me all her resentment. She stood up in the middle of talking and walked towards me. I had no choice but to listen to her as she spoke before my eyes. Her pain was communicated to me with an overwhelming desperation. Covering her story was an intensely agonizing experience. It was as if the brutal experience those women had suffered became truly engraved in my heart. That became my coverage of her story.

Ahn Hae-ryong

What was your purpose of covering the ‘Comfort Women’ victims?

Ito Takashi

Many people suffered various damages under Japan's colonial rule of Korea, but among them, the damage inflicted on the ‘Comfort Women’ by the Japanese Army shows a pretty straightforward answer to the question 'What is the true nature of Japanese colonial rule?' I am certain that Japanese colonial rule was exceptionally inhumane and cruel, and this is best illustrated by the damage the ‘Comfort Women’ had suffered.

 

Ahn Hae-ryong

How many North Korean ‘Comfort Women’ victims have you met?

Ito Takashi

I initially met four victims in 1992, and afterwards, I met 14 victims in total.

Ahn Hae-ryong

Are any of the North Korean victims still alive?

Ito Takashi

I asked if I could meet them when I went there to cover their story in 2017. However, I learned that 13 out of the 14 victims I had met had since passed away, and there was no chance I would be able to meet the one remaining victim because she was no longer in a condition to meet or talk to anyone.

Ahn Hae-ryong

You have visited South Korea and North Korea many times so far to cover the stories of the ‘Comfort Women’ victims. Has there been any change during the long process?

Ito Takashi

The victims from South Korea and North Korea were very wary of me when we first met. I thought that was fair, as they were giving an interview to a Japanese man. Some victims threw things at me, while others asked me questions. They expressed their criticisms or what they thought about Japan, and asked me about my thoughts. I also ended up being interviewed by them on several occasions. We developed a semblance of trust as we met several times to talk to each other, and this allowed me to talk to them about various stories. As I faced them sincerely and as we built up relationships in which we directly encountered each other as human beings to communicate our own thoughts to each other, I felt like we truly shared our feelings as humans, despite our positions as victims and perpetrators. It is painful to see that they are now dying one after another.

Ahn Hae-ryong

What did you feel during the process of meeting the ‘Comfort Women’ victims?

Ito Takashi

As expected, the damage suffered by the ‘Comfort Women’ victims was extremely grave. For example, some people gave up getting married after the war and liberation because of their physical wounds, while others who did get married were beaten up by their husbands when their past was finally revealed. Thus, there are reportedly many people who have been hiding their past experiences. I think there are actually many people who chose to kill themselves rather than continue fighting their demons. I believe the ‘Comfort Women’ survivors are those who suffered such severe degrees of truly unreasonable damage.

Ahn Hae-ryong

How do you think North Korea's ‘Comfort Women’ issue should be resolved in collaboration with Japan?

Ito Takashi

As diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea have been severed, the two countries are also attempting to address the need for compensation for the victims during the meetings aimed at normalizing their diplomatic relations. However, with the North Korea-Japan relations in a deteriorated condition as they are now, it is absolutely unclear if the discussions concerning the victims would actually take place. I believe that Japan certainly committed extremely grave crimes in the past, and that holds true even when all of the victims finally pass away. I think that unless Japan concretely settles this crime, the victims, their families, and other citizens in their countries will continue to criticize Japan, and this will be carried on to the next generation. I think that Japan’s failure to deal with its past will definitely be disadvantageous for Japan's future.

Ahn Hae-ryong

Why do you continue to cover the stories about Japanese war crimes such as the ‘Comfort Women’ issue?

Ito Takashi

Even in Japan, I have entered into a very rare existence in which I continuously document Japan's past wrongdoings. I think it would be nice if Japanese society would display more interest in this issue, but I think that my interest was actually a coincidence. I have been covering this issue ever since I first met the South Korean atomic bomb victims. I don’t think I would be doing this work now if I had not attended those meetings. I even think that it may also be one of my destinies. In addition, I wonder, 'Wouldn't it be okay for Japan to have a journalist who directly confronts and authentically documents Japan's wrongdoings, even if I'm the only one actually following such a pursuit?' I hope this coverage will remain as a proper record so that the contents of my coverage can be shared with people in South Korea, North Korea, or other Asian countries which suffered such atrocious victimization.

 

About the writer/Translation Ahn Hae-ryong