Human Rights and Peace Are the Foundation of All Discipline

Professor Takashi Uemura from Catholic University

There was a Japanese journalist who wrote about Japanese military comfort women for the first time. Takashi Uemura, now a professor at Catholic University, was born in Kochi Prefecture in 1958 and graduated from Waseda University, Department of Political Science, and joined Asahi Shimbun in 1982. He had served as correspondent of Tehran and Seoul after working at Sendai, Chiba, and Social Affairs Department at Osaka Headquarters. Still, Professor Uemura is busy striving hard to spread the truth to Japan and Korea.

Accusations of “fraudulent reporting”

Takashi Uemura was famous as a journalist who first published an article revealing the fact that

a supporting organization for comforting women in Korea is listening to the voice from one of the victim in Asahi Shimbun in August 11, 1991. Three days after the publication, the latest Kim Hak-soon, held the press conference arguing that the story is hers’. Thanks to the courageous action taken by Kim Hak-soon, many Korean women who had to serve as Japanese military comfort women have stood up and poured out their stories. However, Professor Uemura has been plagued by the attack from Japanese rightists since 1992, a year after he wrote the article. He stood against the attack, and wrote the memoirs titled “Truth: I Am Not a Fake Reporter.” The title itself shows his deep sense of grievance as a journalist who had worked hard over 30 years.

Journalists have values to protect. And for me, these values were “human rights and peace.” As a news reporter, I’ve closely watched the democratization progress in Korea during the 1980's and got interested in Korea because of Korean citizens’ dynamic power. Japanese military comfort women’s issue was also a part of the story. As a journalist, it was something that must be published to the world. I didn’t think about courage at that time. It was a natural thing to do to protect human rights and peace. I believe human rights and peace are actually the foundation of all disciplines, not just journals. There can't be a study that goes against human rights and peace”

Connection with Catholic University and Career as a Professor

Professor Uemura's connection with the Catholic University was established thanks to Kang Myung-suk, a graduate from Catholic University. After graduating from the university, Kang Myung-suk went to the Hokkaido Graduate School of Hokkaido, where he met with Professor Uemura. Seeing Uemura’s earnest battles against Japanese right wingers to defend his beliefs,

Kang Myung-suk decided to become a news reporter who does not bend his belief just like Uemura.“ “I heard that Kang Myung-suk held a campaign to protect me after returning to Korea and that his campaign drew more than 900 people on campus alone. I don't know whether such an activity had a direct impact on further development, but it seems to me that Mr. Kang has made me popular on campus.”

In Japan, Catholicism is given little weight among religious considerations. Thus, the Catholic University of Korea is also not a well-known university in Japan. However, when he introduces the Catholic University of Korea as a college that holds their enrollment ceremony at Myeongdong Cathedral, even Japanese intellectuals nod their heads. He explained that Japanese intellectuals are well aware of the value of peace represented by Myeong-dong Cathedral and Cardinal Kim Su-hwan in Korean modern history.

Professor Uemura teaches undergraduate students and those who major in Japanese Language & Culture at Catholic university. “East Asia has experienced as many invasions and wars as Europe had, and I teach students about how to preserve peace and exchange cultural elements and its values. Not only that, my students work on projects, actually using Japanese. Recently, I’ve even published a booklet that introduces Korean and Japanese culture with those students.

A Humanitarian and Pacifist Who Recommends “Taking a Walk”

Professor Uemura was recently selected as the winner of the “7th Lee Young-hee Award.” He said “I think it's a big encouragement given by Korean journalists to stay strong. I’d like to thank those who support me.” When I asked the busy protector of peace and human rights what the one thing he would to recommend to Catholic students would be, he said to “take walks.” “If you’re too focused on academics, it can be difficult for you to take care of not just yourself but others around you. I think taking a walk provides you with a good chance to look back at yourself. You may realize values of natural things, seeing natural surroundings and people you encounter while taking a walk. If you want to reflect on yourself and stay in any field for a long time, I would recommend taking a walk is a good hobby to develop. "Natural surroundings of Catholic University are really beautiful. I take a walk with my students and talk about attitudes toward life at least once during the semester and it’s very rewarding."