The Korean-Japanese War (1-7 April 2018) was a conflict between the Greater Korean Republic and Japan. The conflict ends in Japan falling under Korean occupation, six days after war was declared.
Background[]
Korea and Japan had a long history of disputes which had been marked with conflict, such as the Japanese 1910-1945 colonization of Korea. By 2017, relations between Japan and Korea deteriorated following the establishment of the Greater Korean Republic in which it led to the rise of Japanese nationalism. The feelings of distrust and hatred escalated into an alleged assassination attempt by Korean agents on the Japanese royal family on 7 July 2017. Although the assassins were discovered by Japan's main intelligence agency Naicho to be reactionary nationals, the Japanese public blamed Korea for the assassination attempt. As a result violent riots and protests erupted against Korean-Japanese citizens, in which many suffered from destruction of their property to murder.[2]
The systematic attacks on Korean-Japanese citizens was condemned by the Korean government in which President Kim Jong-un publicly denounced the racial attacks and ensured the protection of every Korean citizen worldwide.[3] Despite the Japanese government's condemnation against the anti-Korean violence, the riots continued unabated in which unofficial estimates claimed that as many as ten thousand ethnic Koreans died at the hands of Japanese nationalists. The Korean government demanded international condemnation against Japan, alleging that Japanese police were involved in the attacks, but to little avail.[4] As a result many Korean residents were forced to flee Japan and the anti-Korean violence continued to climb within a year. By 2018, of the nearly one million Koreans living in Japan, an estimated twelve thousand have been killed.[5]
Prior to the diplomatic breakdown between Japan and Korea, the United States began to withdraw their military presence in the Asian-Pacific region due to the ongoing global economic crisis. In Japan, the governments of Japan and America quarreled over extending U.S. military presence on Okinawa in which both parties refused to spend on the massive economic costs resulting from the forces in the area. As a result, Japan and the United States ended their military alliance in 2014, effectively leaving Japan without powerful allies to support them against Korean aggression.[6]
War is Declared[]
Believing that Japan had failed to protect ethnic Koreans from being slaughtered in the attacks and frustrated by the lack of international condemnation and the inaction of the United Nations, Kim Jong-un made his decision to protect the ethnic Koreans by declaring war on Japan on April 1, 2018.[5] Shortly after Korea's declaration of war, Korean Special Operations teams were inserted into Japan with the goal of capturing "strategic targets", specifically Japan's nuclear power plants, with the goal of gaining leverage against the Japanese government.[5] In a show of force, the Koreans destroyed the Chugoku nuclear power plant, causing a massive radiation leak that killed thousands and poisoned countless Japanese living within the radioactive fallout. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens fled from cities and towns in southern Japan.[7]
This act of terror forced the Japanese government to realize the Koreans' undoubted intentions of destroying the other captured twenty-six power plants and unleashing nuclear devastation across Japan after Kim Jong-un made a thinly veiled threat addressed to the Japanese if they refused his demands for their surrender.[7] Greatly intimidated, the Japanese Diet passed an emergency measure that acceded to all of Kim Jong-un's demands in order to prevent further destruction. On April 7, Japan capitulated to the GKR just as Korean military forces advanced on Tokyo.[8]
Aftermath[]
Japan fell under Korean occupation in which the Korean military took over existing Japanese infrastructure such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to construct nuclear missiles based on the American Peacekeeper ICBM.[9] Prison camps were established across Japan and public executions were conducted against Japanese dissidents.[10]
International response to the Korean occupation of Japan varied widely. The international community generally condemned Korea's invasion, calling the actions a "war crime" and "an act of terror". However, many nations were unable to respond due to domestic issues.[7] The United States called for sanctions on Korea for its occupation, which the Korean government, in defense, rebutted that the occupation was an attempt to stamp out an attempted genocide against ethnic Koreans living in Japan. Other nations, especially among East Asian nations, accepted Korea's occupation as justifiable and supported its mission in Japan. Iran, having previously improved its alliance with Korea, provided Korea with weapons and fuel at reduced rates. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia also provided two elite Renjer battalions for counterinsurgency operations in Japan.[11]
The controversy over the Korean occupation continued for several months until on October 5, 2018 the United Nations, led by the United States, passed a resolution condemning Korea for the destruction of the Chugoku nuclear power plant as a human rights violation. The resolution received 46 votes in favor and 11 votes against. Those nations that were against the resolution were those that provided Korea with material support. Korea responded to the resolution by pulling its envoy from the U.N.[12]
During the conflict, a large number of American citizens that were in Japan were taken hostage by Korea. The governments between the GKR and the United States came to an agreement to return the U.S. captives, but only in small numbers at a time due to the costs involved. With a population of hundreds of thousands of Americans in Japan and Korea, it was expected to take over ten years to return everyone.[13]
References[]
- ↑ International reactions to Korean occupation of Japan differ
- ↑ Racial conflicts turn bloody in Japan
- ↑ Kim Jong-un promises to protect Koreans worldwide
- ↑ Korean government demands international condemnation against Japan
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Korea declares war against Japan
- ↑ American military seen as unwanted in new era of East Asian peace
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Japanese towns, cities evacuated in the aftermath of nuclear power plant destruction
- ↑ Japanese capitulates to Korean occupation
- ↑ North Korea suspected of developing nuclear weapons in Japan
- ↑ Homefront: The Voice of Freedom, p. 29
- ↑ International reactions to Korean occupation of Japan differ
- ↑ UN condemns North Korean occupation of Japan
- ↑ Ibid., p. 22