The Kyoto Prefectural Police headquarters (Mainichi/Takanori Ishikawa)

       KYOTO -- A 22-year-old man was arrested on Dec. 6 on suspicion of setting fire to a vacant house in a Kyoto Prefecture area where many "Zainichi" Korean residents in Japan live.

       The Utoro area in the city of Uji was formed as a result of the construction of an airfield during World War II. Kyoto Prefectural Police's Uji Police Station is investigating the motive.

       Shogo Arimoto, an unemployed man from the city of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, was arrested on suspicion of arson to an uninhabited building for setting fire to a vacant house in the Utoro area at around 4 p.m. on Aug. 30. The prefectural police have not revealed how the suspect pleads.

       According to the police and others, the fire spread to the surrounding area, completely burning down five empty houses and warehouses, and partially burning down two other homes. No one was injured.

       Korean laborers who were involved in the construction of the airfield had gathered in the Utoro area, and many of their descendants, including Zainichi Koreans, have continued to live there after the war. The residents have been trying to preserve the remains of the workers' dormitory and to build a peace memorial hall, but the fire destroyed about 50 daily life items and other materials that had been stored in empty houses and were planned to be exhibited at the memorial hall.

       In October, Arimoto was arrested by Aichi Prefectural Police on suspicion of damage to property for setting fire to the Korean Residents Union in Japan's facility in Nagoya.

       An individual affiliated with the Utoro Minkan Kikin Zaidan, a private-sector fund, which is responsible for the construction of the memorial hall, said, "If the arson is true, it is highly likely that it was a malicious act motivated by discrimination. It is extremely regrettable that documents that recorded our history have been lost. We hope that a thorough investigation will be conducted, including into the motive."

       (Japanese original by Kotaro Chigira, Kyoto Bureau)

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