Where Are Ahns Remains?

Japan Urged to Disclose Documents on Executed Hero

March 26 will mark the 100th anniversary of the execution of Ahn Jung-geun, a renowned Korean independence fighter who assassinated Japanese Resident-General Hirobumi Ito in 1909. Ahn's death is coming under the spotlight again, especially this year when the nation observes a centennial of its forced annexation to Japan. But what Koreans feel ashamed of is that they still cannot find the remains of the national hero.

It's time for us to reflect on the lack of our efforts to leave no stones unturned to locate Ahn's grave and return his remains home. We have to admit that we have neglected revealing the secrets about where his body was laid to rest after his execution. The former colonial power has long denied the existence of any documents about how its prison officials handled the corpse. But the denial is now proven to be false.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said Monday that it has recently obtained new Japanese records on the imprisonment of Ahn and other independence fighters. It is fortunate that the agency has collected the records, although belatedly. But it is still regrettable that the finding of the documents has been made through unofficial contacts from Japanese scholars and civil rights activists who had access to their government's archives.

The Japanese government should no longer deliberately withhold information on the whereabouts of Ahn's remains. And we urge it to make sincere efforts to acknowledge its past misdeeds and take faithful actions to reveal the mystery about his burial. This should be the first step Japan must take to make a genuine reconciliation with Korea whose people suffered under the yoke of imperialism and colonialism between 1910 and 1945.

Tokyo's persistent refusal to hand over any documents about Ahn only constitutes another act of keeping its shameful history secret as well as part of its brazen-faced attempts to gloss over its aggressions and brutalities against Korea and other Asian countries in the early part of the 20th century. What's important is that Japan should make the utmost effort to prevent the repetition of its disgraced history.

Once again, we call on the Japanese side to cooperate in locating Ahn's remains so that Koreans can shed a new light on the assassination of Ito, which took place in Harbin, Manchuria, Oct. 26, 1909, to protest Japan's imperial ambition over the Korean Peninsula. After Ahn's execution in Lushun, China, Japanese officials were highly secretive about his burial, over fears that his grave might turn into a sacred place for martyrdom and a national independence movement.

We believe that the information about Ahn's remains has no reason to be cloaked in a shroud of secrecy any more. And we hope that Japan will immediately make public all the documents, if they still exist, about this matter. Ahn advocated peace in East Asia at the last moment of his death. It's urgent to locate his remains so that they can rest in peace at last.