Nuclear plant manufacturer Hitachi out of Lithuania now! – Appeal by ethnic Korean Hitachi worker

Hitachi’s export of nuclear power plants to Lithuania has to be stopped in order to prevent the pre-war “colonial power” from expanding its influence. The promotion of nuclear power as a state policy has generated internal colonies in Japan. I live in an in-house colony where I am “forced” to be silenced. Silence enhances discrimination and oppression. Our struggle against Hitachi’s employment discrimination against ethnic Koreans was a joint one of Japanese and Korean youths who worried about the future and demanded social change. It was the 1970s when nuclear power was promoted in Japan and its “ethnicity” was highlighted to strengthen its concept as a nation state. The struggle against Hitachi was that against colonialism for demanding war criminals to be held accountable, although it was criticized by an ethnic Korean organization as leading to assimilation. (Appeal by PARK Jong-seok on January 12)

* Photo: Park – In 1970, his employment to Hitachi was revoked due to his South Korean nationality. However, he won the lawsuit against the manufacturer in 1974 and was finally employed by it. He retired last year and has become a fixed-term employee of Hitachi ever since.

原発メーカー日立の小国リトアニアからの撤退を！
～在日社員がアピール

戦前の「宗主国」の植民地拡大を阻止するために日立製作所のリトアニアへの原発輸出は絶対阻止しなければなりません。国策に便乗した原発体制は、国内植民地 を生み出しました。私は、沈黙を「強要」された企業内植民地で生きていますが、沈黙は差別と抑圧を助長します。原発メーカーである日立製作所の就職差別糾弾闘争は、生き方に悩み、社会変革を求めた２０歳前後の日本人・韓国人の青年との共同闘争でした。原発体制が推進された７０年代、国民国家を煽る「民族」 が前面に出された時代でした。日立闘争は、同化の繋がると批判した民族団体から見放されましたが、戦争責任を追求した植民地主義との闘いでした。（朴鐘碩さんの1/12アピール）

＊写真・朴さんは1970年韓国籍を理由に日立から就職拒否される。しかし裁判をたたかい74年に勝訴し採用された。昨年定年を迎え現在は日立製作所・嘱託所員