Gunkanjima (Battleship Island): A World Heritage Site Soiled by Korea Part 4 , Chapter 13,14

Part IV Phantom of Forced Abduction

History fabricated by Korea continues to grow, gaining more and more credibility in Korea while we Japanese fail to pay much attention to what is going on, and “hatred” toward the Japanese increases almost automatically. Should we leave things as they are, their anti-Japanese sentiment growing out of control and relations between Japan and Korea becoming unrepairable? “Lies” will settle in as facts in the international community and the Japanese people’s honor and prestige will be lost for eternity.

Part IV points out how distorted and fabricated Korean assertions are and presents true history. By doing so, I would like to point out the only way possible to reach true reconciliation between Japan and Korea, both of which are deeply at odds with each other over historical issues.

Chapter 13: Mobilized workers were not “forcibly abducted”

The fictitiously coined phrase, “forced abduction of Koreans”, first appeared in an essay written by critic Fujishima Udai in the September 1960 issue of the magazine Sekai (World). Later, it was used in a very limited circle of researchers. However, in 1965, Park Kyon-sik, then professor of Korea University (in Japan) published a book titled The Record of Forced Abduction of Koreans and the phrase, “forced abduction of Koreans”, became popularized.

Japan and Korea resumed diplomatic relations, following the “Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea”, which was concluded in June 1965. The book was published in April 1965, immediately before the conclusion of the Treaty. The introduction of the book reads:

The present situation in Asia, especially the one surrounding Korea and Japan, is very serious. The meeting between Japan and Korea now forcibly underway at the behest of American imperialism reminds us of the situation ninety to sixty years ago, where Imperial Japan forcibly invaded and seized Korea. Now, Japan’s monopolized capital is fiercely rushing upon southern Korea, like a flood about to break a dam, backed by American capitalism.

As this introduction shows, the contents of this book were merely North Korean propaganda, intending to obstruct negotiations then being held between the Japanese Government and the Park Chung-hee Administration.

In the book, it was stated that Japan “forcibly abducted” Koreans and abused them, making them engage in hard labor at Japanese coal mines and elsewhere. Anti-Japanese Japanese, like leftwing journalists, were strongly captured by these words. Later, newspapers like the Asahi Newspaper, which are sympathetic to South and North Korea, began to widely use the term “forced abduction of Koreans.” Thus, although the words “forced abduction of Koreans” are completely fictious, they came to be used as if they were true.

During Japan’s rule, Korean people were favorably treated

During Japan’s rule, Koreans were Japanese citizens and as such they were protected by Japanese law and at the same time, they had the same obligation to follow the law. Then, is it true that the law forced Korean people to bear more obligations than the Japanese people did?

No, this is not at all true. The truth was the opposite. Korean people were exempt from income tax for ten years after the Annexation. As for the cost for elementary school education, following a decree on Korean schools, Japanese living in Korea were required to pay nearly eight times more than Koreans did .

The National Conscription Act did not apply to Koreans for a long period of time. The conscription was introduced to the Korean Peninsula in April 1944, when the Greater East Asian War was drawing to an end, and it was in September 1944 that conscription was implemented.

Moreover, Korean soldiers who were conscripted in September were still in training and did not go to the actual battlefield in person when the War ended. The Japanese Government remained reluctant to send Korean people to the front to the very end. This was strikingly different from that of the British. Great Britain organized the Colonial Indian Army at the early stage of the Greater East Asian War and had Indian soldiers fight against the Japanese Army.

It was the same with the “National Mobilization Act.” In 1939, following Article 4 of the National Mobilization Act,a national mobilization decree was issued. However, it was in September 1944 that a similar decree was issued within the Korean Peninsula. Moreover, a decree to mobilize females was never issued within the Korean Peninsula. Some single female Koreans participated in the Women’s Volunteers Corps and worked in factories, entirely of their own volition.

In legal terms, though they were Japanese citizens, clearly Koreans were less bound than the Japanese in the mainland to their obligations.

The Japanese Government restricted influx of laborers from the Korean Peninsula

For a certain duration of time prior to the War, pure-minded Korean peasants who were under-educated and with only a poor command of the Japanese language rushed to mainland Japan seeking higher wages, where the struggle for survival was extremely tough. The influx caused friction in various aspects within Japanese society. Koreans were eager to work for lower wages, robbing Japanese workers of their jobs. Many troubles over labor management and public safety frequently occurred.

To cope with this situation, the Japanese Government restricted as much as possible the influx of Koreans who had no prospect of employment and living in Japan. Submission of a certificate of employment and census registration was needed in order to enter Japan. At ports of departure, such as Busan, the Japanese Government even implemented “a system to persuade Koreans to give up the voyage to Japan” for those Koreans who had no guarantee of employment or money to cover the expense of traveling to Japan.

Consequently, from 1933 to 1937, out of 1,088,000 Koreans (hereinafter numbers are rounded) who applied to enter Japan, 652,000 Koreans (about 60%) were persuaded to give up.

Recruiting of workers was legally conducted

Mr. Park Kyon-sik writes in his book The Record of Forcibly Abducted Koreans:

From the time of “recruiting” in 1939, “forced abduction was implemented as planned and most of Koreans were abducted without ever being informed of the destination under “mighty-powered restraint.” The more forcible abduction policy than “recruiting” was “official good offices,” followed further by “mobilization,” which was “forced abduction to Japan.”

However, “recruiting,” “official good offices,” and “mobilization” were done legally, following Japanese law. Now, let us examine how these methods were practically conducted.

As for the real circumstance and related figures concerning Korean workers, I have referred to books entitled Study of Colonized Korea by Mr. Sugimoto Mikio (Akashi Shoten) and The Myth of Korean Residents in Japan and Forced Abduction by Mr. Chung Daekyun (Bungeishunju), as well as essays Fiction of Forced Abduction of Koreans by Mr. Nishioka Tsutomu in the August to December 2000 issues of Getsuyo Hyoron [Monday Criticism].

“Free recruiting” made it possible to directly recruit Korean workers in the Korean Peninsula

Ever since the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, many healthy Japanese males were called up and sent to the battlefield, which caused serious shortages of manpower in domestic factories, mines and construction sites. To counter this shortfall, the National Mobilization Act was enacted in 1938 and based on this Act, a national mobilization decree was issued in 1939. As already mentioned, however, at this point, the decree was not implemented within the Korean Peninsula. Instead, to quickly import workers from Korea to Japan, “free recruiting” was introduced.

The “free recruiting” system started in September 1939, and its main goal was to exempt individuals from the conventional, complicated application process regarding travel to mainland Japan. Through this system, the process for traveling to Japan was entirely dealt with by the employer, freeing individuals from the complex application process.

Through this system, employers in Japan proper, accredited by the Ministry of Welfare and the Korean Governor-General’s Office, sent their recruiters to the Korean Peninsula and recruited their quota of workers in the area designated by the Korean Governor-General’s Office. Those recruited Koreans went to Japan en mass, led by personnel from their employer’s company.

This situation was almost the same as during the period of hyper-growth from 1955 to 1964 in Japan, when due to a shortage of workers, employers went to remote prefectures to recruit “golden eggs” (prospective workers) and a mass of recruited Japanese went to Tokyo and Osaka on “recruit trains.”

However, companies using the “free recruiting system” were mainly coalmines and many applicants showed up from drought-stricken Gyeongsang Province while there were only a small number of applicants from other Provinces, because they were peasants and had no experience in coal mining. As a result, the free recruiting was not very successful in collecting Koreans needed to solve the shortage of workers. Over three years, from 1939 to 1941, against a planned mobilization of 255,000 Koreans, only 147,000 Koreans came to Japan under the system of “free recruiting” (numbers from the Ministry of Welfare) and the rate of success was a mere 58%.

In addition, among recruited Koreans, there were many free-loaders who simply took advantage of traveling to Japan on company expense. They had no intention of working at coal mines from the beginning, applying under free recruiting by a coal mining company as a means of working in Japan, having the cost of travel to Japan being paid by the company. Many Koreans came to Japan under free recruiting, worked for a short time and then quit to change work. It is estimated that 60% of the recruited Koreans by coal mining companies merely made a convenience of the company-paid voyage to Japan .

“Official good offices” were not binding

Replacing “free recruiting,” Japanese companies introduced “official good offices” in 1942. Under this system, Japanese employers applied to the Korean Governor-General’s Office for permission to recruit needed workers. A quota allowed by the Governor-General’s Office was then distributed through counties and cities to towns and villages. In short, recruiting of workers were made through administration.

Koreans assert that “free recruiting” and “official good offices” were basically coercive. Specifically, regarding “official good offices, the Korean Governor-General’s Office decided on a quota, and at the other end of the system, the mayors of villages exerted powerful pressure which could indeed be considered forced.

Certainly, there may have been some Korean officials who acted with force to fulfill a given quota through the “official good offices.” However, it was possible for Korean workers who came to Japan through “free recruiting” or “official good offices,” to quit from the work he was assigned. If he didn’t like the work, he was able to freely quit, after having paid for food and obtaining his share of unpaid wages, and get a better job at another company. When a Korean worker left the job or stayed after the period of contract (one to two years in most cases) expired, he could still remain in mainland Japan, with guarantees of food rations and civil rights (including suffrage) as a Japanese citizen . As I will later explain, at that time, many immigrant Korean workers came to Japan from the Korean Peninsula of their own volition. Koreans who came to Japan under “free recruiting” and “official good offices” lived almost in the same conditions as Koreans did who came over of their own free will.

An original source of the fiction that “they came aboard a truck and abducted Koreans”

In the previously mentioned book for children, Hell Island Gunkanjima, there was the phrase “they came aboard a truck and abducted Koreas,” which is pure fiction. The original source of this fiction was a paragraph in the book entitled New Story of Korea, written in 1950 by a Japanese named Kamada Sawaichiro, who was a policy adviser to the sixth Korean Governor-General Ugaki Kazushige (in office from 1930 to 1936 ):

If applying for employment was to be done after obtaining the applicant’s consent, it was difficult to secure the designated number of applicants. Thus, those in charge of labor management administration at the county or village level burst into houses with male members at midnight or before dawn while the entire family was fast asleep, or they came aboard a truck to the fields where men were working and put farmers aboard a truck using various excuses. After men were collected in these manners, they were sent to coal mines in Hokkaido and Kyushu in mainland Japan. In this manner, Korean officials and officers resorted to violent measures to fulfill their quota. Although the Governor-General himself did not order them to take such violent measures, Korean officials and local officers at the other end of the administration were very sensitive to what their superiors wanted and eagerly carried out the tough work. (Underlined by the author.)

It is said that Kamada held a grudge against the succeeding 7th Governor-General, Minami Jiro (in office 1936-1942), who nullified the policy that was implemented during Ugaki’s administration, and after the War, Kamada may have written such a statement to demonstrate “a terrible case” under Minami’s administration out of spite . It was most likely that Kamada wrote what he did based on rumors and without confirming the credibility. That is why he went to the trouble of adding “…however, it was not that the Governor-General ordered forcibly recruiting Koreans to that extent.”

Many anti-Japanese Japanese have often quoted this statement, describing an incident which happened somewhere and at some time, without any proof whatsoever, but the true circumstance, the “forced abduction of Koreans by Japanese,” is intentionally avoided, as the most important part was that “Korean officials and officers perpetrated the dirty work.”

In the past, similar statements have appeared in Japanese textbooks. For example, a junior high school history textbook published by Kyoiku Shuppan in 1999 claims: “A Korean man was suddenly presented with a warrant of mobilization by a local policeman and a village officer while he was sleeping, was handcuffed and immediately taken away.”

Also, this statement appeared in another junior high school history textbook published by Osaka Shoseki in 2000: “Strong and useful looking Koreans working in town or in the fields were randomly put aboard a truck and carried away to a port where they were sent to Japan. It was more like kidnapping than mobilization.” Since Japanese school history textbooks carry such claims, it is no wonder that Koreans believe these outrageous stories to be true.

“Mobilization” was the people’s obligation

The “official good offices” changed to “mobilization” in September 1944. As previously mentioned, the mobilization decree was issued in 1939 in Japan and it was five years later that the decree came into effect within the Korean Peninsula. As the War became fiercer, the shortage of labor in mainland Japan became worse. Accordingly, male Koreans who had been exempt from mobilization were required to comply with “mobilization” as Japanese citizens.

In applying the mobilization decree to people in the Korean Peninsula, the 8th Governor-General, Koiso Kuniaki, and the succeeding 9th Governor-General, Abe Nobuaki, sincerely hoped that Koreans working in Japan as mobilized workers would enable them to obtain work skills and to use them for future development of their country. Thus, the Governors led the mobilization effort from the forefront, seeing to it that mobilization would perfectly function for the sake of those mobilized.

Mobilized Koreans were strictly allocated to companies with eligible labor management, their wages were officially decided by law and workers’ families back home in Korea were to be compensated for their decreased income. These details are clearly stated in the Historical Review on Japanese Activities Overseas, Volume V, Korea 4, which was published after the War by the Ministry of the Treasury, Administration Agency and supervised by Kobayashi Hideo (Yumani Shobo):

As soon as Governor-General Abe took office, he was very much aware of the importance of the labor issue and set up a labor department within the mining industry division and introduced a second section to support mobilization to systematically carry out the task. At the same time, Governor-General Abe created a society to support Korean laborers–to support them and their families in Korea. To fully implement these measures, he added up the necessary costs as Treasury subsidies. At the same time, he made Japanese employers bear part of the cost. Money was then sent to families in Korea as subsidies for wage differences, family separation fee and so on and supported their well being. Moreover, families in Korea were given priority in the distribution of various goods and the patriotic activities of friendly neighbors were also promoted to perfect family support. On sending laborers to industries in urgent need of workers in mainland for fiscal year 1944, companies were made to completely agree that “while paying further attention to labor management, it is necessary to protect female members of families at home in Korea and to support this effort employers will provide certain amount of money to help them settle and comfort them.

As the above document shows, in mobilizing Koreans, Japan was extremely careful and discreet so as not to touch a nerve. It is totally unthinkable that “Japan abducted Koreans at random and abused them, putting them to hard labor.”

“Mobilization” was essentially a legal obligation that every Japanese citizen bore equally. Once a citizen was mobilized, he had to go wherever he was sent. It was perfectly natural for the mobilization to be applied to male Koreans who were Japanese citizens and no problem at all in the light of international law of the time. If you call mobilization “forced abduction”, then Japanese who were mobilized in mainland Japan were all victims of “forced abduction”.

Although mobilization was perfectly legal, Japan did not want to harshly punish Koreans who did not follow the mobilization order. Under the circumstances, Koreans, one after another, declined to be mobilized, not wanting to work in coal mines. Consequently, between September 1944 and June 1945, when the mobilization decree was in effect, only 79% of the originally planned number of workers was sent to Japan proper.

Chapter 14: A note of a mobilized Korean worker

Now, let us see how mobilized workers lived at the time.

At National Memorial Museum of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Occupation (refer to page , Chapter 10) there are cards showing the family backgrounds of mobilized workers from the Korean Peninsula, filed by Toyo Kogyo Industries (currently Mazda). At the Museum, the company is listed as one of the “war criminals”.

As a matter of fact, a Korean named Chung Jung-he wrote a book, A Note of A Mobilized Korean Worker, translated by Inoshita Haruko (published by Kawai Shuppan). At the time, this Korean worked at Toyo Kogyo in Hiroshima. He wrote in detail about living conditions and of his work. I will quote a part of this book and with this, readers will clearly see how mobilized Korean workers worked and lived at the time.

Food and living left nothing to be desired

First, he describes his food and life:

[On arrival at his dormitory], we found a new wooden building. That was the dormitory where we were to live. We were told that it was the second dormitory, newly constructed, to accommodate us mobilized Korean workers. [Omitted] Our new dormitory and the surrounding area were fine. [Omitted] A 20 tatami-floored room was for ten workers to share, with a bulky futon mat and bedding, which felt like silk, for each worker, specially made for us. With these, we hoped we could live comfortably on the tatami floor without feeling cold. The company seemed to have taken much care in receiving us workers from the Korean Peninsula.

In a light-filled canteen, there were rows of big tables. They, too, looked brand new. In the kitchen in front of the canteen, young women wearing white aprons were busy preparing meals. When we sat at the table, meals were instantly served before each of us. There were two bowls, one for cooked rice and the other for side dishes, on the table. Cooked rice and side dishes were much better than anticipated and they tasted good.

Living with many people together here, I found that tastes were different from person to person. Some liked mandarin and navel oranges and others appreciated sea cucumber and abalone. Even, some asked for sake and had a party after evening supper. These were precious things and the only comforts for Koreans who had come all the way from home.

Rice cooked with oysters, which was sometimes served at the canteen, was truly delicious. At ebb tide, we were able to gather sea cucumbers and asari clams in volume on the beach in the back of the canteen. [Omitted] It was a lot of fun to gather them after the day’s work and it was the greatest fun to drink, barbecue and cook these catches.

At the end of 1944, mobilized Korean workers ate “what they liked” to their fill, drank alcohol and slept soundly covered with silk-like bed clothes and mats.

Mobilized Korean workers were friendly with Japanese

According to the note, on New Year’s Day, entertainment was held, promoting mutual understanding and friendship between Japanese and Koreans.

Everyone was excited [about upcoming planned entertainment]. [Omitted] We decided to invite Japanese people in the neighborhood to the entertainment to enjoy the occasion together. So, we posted invitations at several places where company houses were.

“We will host entertainment at the second dormitory from 7:30 p.m. on January 1st. Please come and enjoy the entertainment with us. From: the mobilized workers from the Korean Peninsula.”

Though it was entertainment for our own sake, we are now in Japan and we are to perform in front of a Japanese audience. So, it was run smoothly and enjoyable. The responsibility rested with all two hundred of us. It is no exaggeration to say, it was a matter of showing the level of cultural of the entire Korean Peninsula. Now, the entertainment seems to be not just between us, but an international project.

Mr. Chang Hun topped the entertainment with his fluent Japanese and amazed the Japanese audience. Yu Gwang-hun sang so beautifully that he was encored over and over. Skit, magic, and comic chat were performed, one after another, amid a lot of applause. It was also fun to watch Japanese women perform singing and dancing at intervals.

The event was kind of improvisation, but it was successful. Japanese people who came to see it said in unison, “The entertainment was so wonderful, and we enjoyed it so much!”

The chief in charge of our dormitory and others from the office were especially satisfied and pleased as if their own sons and family members had been praised by others.

A pleasant workplace surrounded with female factory workers

How about the workplace situation? Mr. Chung Jung-he stated, “The first month was dull. As job training, we spent a day running in the field which was totally nonsense, like child’s-play.” Then he wrote about the actual work when he finally entered the factory.

Most of factory workers were women. [Omitted] Looking around the factories, people said, “The 9th factory looks like fun,” or “I prefer the 5th factory.” Some said they liked the 11th factory where they lathed gun barrels. I hear that it took an hour to lathe a gun barrel after setting a gun barrel on the turning lathe. During that time, wouldn’t it be so much fun to chat with the girls working there?

[At the assigned factory,] there were around fifty female workers and several males. The chief gave an introductory speech addressing to the female workers, “I want you to kindly teach these Korean newcomers how to operate the machines. Just as you used to be, they are beginners and not at all good at operating machines. I do hope you will bear this in mind and instruct them kindly.” Most of the female workers were around twenty years old and listened to the chief, smiling all the while.

Looking around us, it was clear that the number of machines far outnumbered workers to operate them. [Omitted] It seems that there used to be enough workers before, but as the War went on, as the male workers went to war, one after another, there was a serious shortage of workers. Since it was impossible to substitute them with more males, Japanese women were mobilized. Still, there were not enough workers and, finally, we were mobilized to cover the shortage.

When we entered the factory, female workers already in the factory came running toward us and greeted us. They were so kind to us. Above all, Murakami-san, very skilled worker, was my instructor in such a wonderful manner. Only two days after we first met, she treated me as if we were old acquaintances. [Omitted] When it was time to start working, Murakami-san said to me, “We shall start work now,” switching the motor on and setting the machine in operation, showing me again what I had learned to do the day before. My hands were not dexterous, and I was timidly touching the object on the machine. Murakami-san said to me, “That’s O.K. Try to repeat the operation even if you are not good at first,” or “Take your time. No need to rush. Do it slowly and you’ll get used to it very soon. We were just like you at first.” She was so kind and considerate.

After two weeks at work, I became used to the factory routine and became more competent, enjoying the work. We never got bored, working among young female workers.

Holiday sightseeing

Mr. Chung Jung-he received special training for nearly a month early in March 1945 in Nara to become a leader among mobilized Korean workers. Here, the training was so hard that he lost a lot of weight. However, on a holiday, there was a sightseeing tour around the city of Nara. He recollects the occasion:

Light-footed, we walked toward the city. We were happy like little school children visiting a nearby park led by their teacher.

Here at Kasuga Shrine, souvenir shops sold goods made from deer horns. Speaking of deer horns, we think of Rokujo, which is made into expensive Chinese medicine. Even Rokujo made of a fallen horn looked valuable to us emotionally. Every one of us eagerly bought these souvenirs. I, too, bought some items for my colleagues at home in Korea.

If workers became physically weak, special leave was allowed

After completion of the special training session in Nara, Mr. Chung Jung-he worked on lifting a sunken ship in Osaka and then went back to Hiroshima. During the special training he was poorly fed, and his physical strength remarkably diminished. Alarmed at his poor physical condition, the company allowed him ten-day special leave to recuperate back to health, feeding him to his stomach’s content. He writes about the time:

It is not easy to eat one’s fill, having nothing else to do. For more than a week, I ate and ate, doing nothing and I got really bored. I recovered physically, to a certain extent. Though my cheeks were still a little bony, I hope I will look as strong as before in due time.

Boarding homes were happy and noisy with drinking and gambling

Mr. Chung resumed working at the Toyo Kogyo factory on April 20. He writes about the atmosphere of the factory at the time:

Men working at the factory did not care a bit about producing weapons, but their minds seemed to be totally occupied by the thought of love with women. The atmosphere within the factory was vulgar beyond words. I don’t remember which one it was, but at a factory, a man named Paek, while operating the press, was so preoccupied with chatting with a female coworker that he cut off his thumb by a press. This Paek was the first to lose a thumb for love.

Mobilized workers from Korea were adored by Japanese women due to the scarcity of men.

In due time, in May, fierce battles to the death for honor were being fought in Okinawa, and day after day, Kamikaze fighters took off, never to return. At such a crucial time, he wrote how mobilized workers at Toyo Kogyo lived:

Within our dormitory, it was always gay. [Omitted] Fetching whatever available, we cooked and barbecued it. We had parties, drinking and eating oranges all the time–things which could hardly be done while a war was going on were somehow being done in the dormitory. People would go somewhere and fetch rare goods. Wherever people got together, gambling started. Here and there, workers were absorbed in gambling with hanafuda cards. Not a few men complained about having lost two to three month’s salary gambling.

At Toyo Kogyo, which Korea now condemns as a “war criminal,” mobilized Korean workers ate, drank and even gambled all the time.

Finally, on their way home, bidding farewell to their Japanese friends

And finally, Japan met the end of the War. He writes about the time:

Our dormitory supervisor Mr. Noguchi told us Koreans what he felt then:

“We have just heard Emperor’s words over the radio that Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Forces. Now, the merciless, hideous war is over. From now on, you are free citizens of an independent country. You have toiled for Japan for a long time, but Japan lost the War. This is our destiny. All I can wish now is that you will return home as soon as possible and work hard to restore your home country.”

He spoke in a sobbing voice.

In the evening an official statement came from the head of the company.

“For the state and the people of Japan, we were obliged to accept unconditional surrender. All things, including the operation of our factories, ceased to function at this point of time. We will see to it that all Koreans of the second dormitory go home to Korea promptly.”

This was happy news for us. They also told us that the company would take all necessary measures for us Koreans to go home safely, but until the day of departure from Japan, except providing food, the company would not at all interfere in our lives, which we were to determine ourselves.

On leaving Japan for Korea, farewell parties were held before the departure of the homebound ship. Dormitory supervisor Noguchi made a farewell speech with tears in his eyes, and Mr. Chung Jung-he, in return, thanked supervisor Noguchi and other office staff on behalf of the departing Koreans. Each of the departing Koreans ran to their Japanese friends and neighbors and exchanged hearty farewells.

At the time there was genuine friendship between Japanese and Koreans and it is easily imagined that such scenes of bidding farewell took place everywhere across Japan. It was the same in Hashima.

According to Mr. Chung Jung-he’s notes, his monthly salary was 140. At the end of 1944 to early 1945, when everything was scarce, the company paid Korean workers high wages, provided a new and clean dormitory and good meals so that Koreans could not complain about their living and working conditions. Koreans who became invalid received nutritious meals and special leave in order to return to good health.

Japanese companies took utmost care of mobilized Korean workers. The aforementioned request from the Korean Governor-General’s Office to companies employing Korean workers, to “take every possible measure”, was 14realized at Toyo Kogyo.