韓国人被爆者問題をめぐる草の根交流

The Korean Atomic Bomb Survivors have long suffered from illness, poverty and discrimination caused by the threefold damages, which include colonial rule, A-bomb injuries and negligence of the relevant governments. The progress of this issue 1) started from the sufferings originated from the state power, such as colonial rule, coercive mobilization, war and A-bombings, 2) led to the self remedy efforts of the victims including petitions, protests and tribunals fighting against the governments, 3) proceeded to the grassroots cooperation between the civil society of Japan and Korea including humanitarian assistance, cooperative negotiations with governments, and finally 4) resulted in the improvement of situation through the institutional changes in the policies, rules and regulations. The improvement has been made mainly through the application of the Japanese.　　 Grassroots cooperation concerning the Korean A-bomb Survivors resulted in policy changes and judiciary improvements both in Japan and Korea, and concerted lawsuit against governments. The underlying spirit of the cooperation is mutual understanding having roots in the history of long exchange between Korea and Japan, and sense of justice which transcend the boundary of nation state legacy. The experience of this grassroots cooperation could serve as the spiritual clue for solving the existing historical dispute between the two countries.