Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan
Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan refers to opposition, hostility, hatred, distrust, fear, and general dislike of Korean people or culture in Japan. Historically, relations between Japan and Korea have been poor. Much of the current anti-Korean sentiment stems from conservative politicians and far-right groups. Pre-WWII History Relations date ancient Japan and Korea date back to at least the 4th century, according to historical records of ancient China, Japan, and Korea. According to the Book of Sui, Silla and Baekje greatly valued relations with the Kofun-period Wa and the Korean kingdoms made diplomatic efforts to maintain their good standing with the Japanese. The Samguk sagi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms) reported that Baekje and Silla sent their princes as hostages to the Yamato court in exchange for military support to continue their military campaigns; King Asin of Baekje sent his son (Jeonji) in 397, and King Silseong of Silla sent his son Misaheun in 402. Hogong, from Japan, helped to found Silla. According to the Nihon Shoki, Silla was invaded by an army from Wa (Japan) in the third century. In Korea, inscriptions on the Gwanggaeto Stele state that the king of Goguryeo assisted Silla when it was invaded by the Wa, and punished Baekje for allying with the Wa. The stela also records Wa excursions in the early 5th century. In 1592, Japanese samurai armies invaded Korea on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Imjin Wars continued until 1598, when the Japanese left, and took with them a number of Korea craftsmen. During the Joseon Dynasty, Wokou pirate raids on Korean soil were frequent, which would eventually form the basis of hatred between the two sides. Such tensions built up further after the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. Japan maintained control of Korea until the end of World War II in 1945. During the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, widespread damage occurred in a region with a significant Korean population, and much of the local Japanese overreacted to rumors which spread after the earthquake. Within the aftermath of the event, there was a common perception amongst some groups of Japanese that ethnic Koreans were poisoning wells, eventually setting off a set of killings against Koreans, where Japanese would use the shibboleth of ba bi bu be bo (ばびぶべぼ) to distinguish ethnic Koreans from Japanese, as it was assumed that Koreans would be unable to pronounce the line correctly, and instead pronounce them as . All people who failed the test were killed, which caused many ethnic Chinese , also unable to correctly pronounce the shibboleth, to be indiscriminately killed in large numbers. Other shibboleths used were and "gagigugego" (がぎぐげご), where Japanese people pronounce initial g as and medial g as (such a distinction is dying out in recent years), whereas Koreans pronounce the two sounds as and respectively. Post-WWII history In April 2014, several anti-Korean stickers were found posted at 13 locations along the Shikoku Pilgrimage route; the stickers were denounced by a spokesman from the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage Association.