Seoul: The number of Koreans aboard a Japanese ship that sank in 1945, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 individuals, is anticipated to be disclosed by the end of the year following an analysis of passenger lists, the interior ministry announced.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the government has tasked the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan with conducting an in-depth analysis of 75 passenger lists and related documents received from the Japanese foreign ministry between September of last year and March of this year. This analysis, expected to be finalized by mid-December, involves the interior ministry's efforts to eliminate duplicate entries and rectify any misprints and mistranslations. Currently, the documents list a total of 18,300 individuals.
The Ukishima Maru was transporting Koreans, many forcibly mobilized for wartime labor, back to their homeland in August 1945, shortly after Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, when it sank off Japan's Aomori Prefecture following an explosion in the hull. Japan stated that the ship struck an underwater mine, resulting in the deaths of 524 out of 3,700 passengers in what was described as an accident.
However, the bereaved families of the Korean victims claim that more than 3,000 lives were lost, among as many as 8,000 people aboard, and have accused Japan of intentionally destroying the ship. Even with the forthcoming analysis results, families might refuse to accept them, given their reliance on data provided by the Japanese government.
Han Yeong-ryong, head of an association of Ukishima victims' family members, emphasized the need for caution, stating, "We have to wait and see the analysis results. We shouldn't determine (the lists) based only on what Japan gives us. We have to use this opportunity to completely determine the truth."
The foundation conducting the analysis also expressed doubts about the lists revealing the precise number of passengers on the ship. A foundation official informed Yonhap News Agency, "We have to obtain additional material from Japan or carry out a full-scale survey of victims' family members to prove the numbers."