The Kinkiro Incident - Between the Press and Discrimination, February 1968

The Kinkiro Incident - Between the Press and Discrimination, February 1968

In February 1968, a Korean resident of Japan, Kim Ureo, holed up with a hunting rifle and took hostages at Fujimiya, a hot spring inn in Sunmatagyo, Shizuoka Prefecture. This incident shocked society as it exposed the discriminatory attitudes latent in postwar Japanese society. Kim complained that he was treated unfairly because he was a Korean, and called in the press to talk about his situation. The incident was broadcast daily on TV and in newspapers, and public opinion wavered between the "criminal" and the "accuser. The case exposed the distortion of Japanese society, where discrimination against zainichi still persists despite the country's economic growth. The incident ended after eight days, but the police response and the overzealous reporting of the incident sparked a debate about the media's responsibility. Thereafter, the police established a specialized sniper unit, the "Fifle Firing Squad," which marked a turning point in the response to the lock-in. At the same
time, it also influenced writers and filmmakers and became an opportunity to portray the zainichi issue head-on. The cries of Kim Hyoil-ro continue to be told today as a "test of conscience" for postwar Japan, which questions the boundary between discrimination and justice.