Japanese city councilman says Kochi legal figures viewed Ahn Jung-geun as 'righteous and just'

A video in which a Japanese municipal councilman says legal professionals from Kochi Prefecture considered Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun "a righteous and just person" has been drawing widespread attention online. Ahn shot and killed Ito Hirobumi, then Japan's prime minister, in Harbin, China, in 1909.

According to the YouTube channel Gimjebeop, creator Gimjebeop visited a tavern in Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku this summer, where he met a local city councilman and had a conversation about Ahn. The video was uploaded recently.

The man, identified in the video as a sitting Kochi city councilman in his 70s and referred to only as A, said he was studying Korean and researching the history surrounding Ahn.

A showed Gimjebeop an old document related to Ahn's trial records and explained that all seven legal figures involved in Ahn's trial at Lushun — including his court-appointed defense attorney and prosecutors — were from Kochi.

"The legal professionals from Kochi assessed that Ahn was, in fact, a righteous and just person," A said. "They understood that he acted for the Korean people out of love for his country. Japanese people may regard him as a terrorist, but from the Korean perspective, he was a patriot."

A went on to say that "people of Kochi at the time treated Ahn kindly because they saw him as a patriot."

When the YouTuber asked whether it was acceptable to say within Japan that Ahn's act was justified, A said the prosecution had no choice but to seek the death penalty since Ahn had killed Ito, but that the assassination had a clear reason behind it. "From Korea's perspective, the country was being taken away, so Japan was in the wrong. From Japan's perspective, the prime minister lost his life, so it was a terrible thing. But from Korea's standpoint, what Ahn did was 'justice' and 'righteousness,'" he said.

A also explained Ahn's story to the tavern's owner. "By Japanese standards it may look like an act of extreme villainy, but the people of Kochi who handled the trial judged him to be a remarkable figure and a patriot," he said. "If your country was being taken from you, isn't it only natural to kill the one taking it?" The tavern owner nodded in agreement, saying, "That's exactly right."

A also mentioned that a commemorative stone honoring Ahn had been erected at a hotel in Kochi in June, only to be removed six days later following protests from local opposition groups.

Online commenters reacted with remarks such as "I'm truly moved that he described Ahn Jung-geun as a patriot," "I have deep respect for the councilman's sound judgment," "This is what reconciliation looks like," "Right after Japan's defeat there were many elderly people who valued the peace constitution and opposed war, but those people are gradually passing away," and "This is a precious video."