56 (Lee 1981, 75)

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(Lee 1981, 75)

To further control unruly Koreans, SCAP decreed that the legal authority to be exercised by Japanese courts should continue to include jurisdiction over Koreans remaining in Japan, and that the Japanese government would be held responsible for the preservation of law and order, including the control of violent acts committed by Koreans. Once the question of jurisdiction over the Koreans became clear, the Japanese authorities wasted no time in exercising strict control.

Despite more stringent law enforcement, there was no decline in violence. There was an admittedly high rate of illegal activities and acts of aggression on the part of Koreans, who felt liberated and therefore able to express pent-up animosities toward those they considered their oppressors. According to a report published by the Japanese police, there were 128 “violent acts” perpetrated by Koreans by the end of 1945. But the reported frequency increased to 5,336 in 1946, and to 5,681 in the following year. This reported increase of violence and unlawful acts appears to have given the Japanese police sufficient excuse to resort again to the systematic intimidation of all Koreans, as had occurred in the prewar period. Subsequently, Koreans became frequent subjects of unreasonable search and seizure against which they had little defense. Long-held prejudices on the part of the Japanese were again overtly expressed. For example, during an anticrime campaign conducted by the police, a Korean emblem was used as background in posters illustrating a clutching hand reaching out to rob a cringing Japanese woman...