Russian and Japanese Diplomatic Responses on Interrogations Records of Ahn Jung-Geun

Abstract

This paper provides a new fact as following through interrogation records of Ahn Jung-Geun. The investigation of the case of Ahn Jung-Geun by Russian and Japanese jurisdictions proceeded as follows: Public Prosecutor Miller of Border District Court conducted the investigation with focus on Ahn and tried to find holes in the testimony related to Ahn’s whereabouts and actions after arriving a day ahead. Hence, the fact that the railway police of the Chinese Eastern Railway faithfully conducted their duties was emphasized. Second, Miller investigated in detail the testimony and reported that it was the Japanese consul general who controlled the access of Japanese nationals. Miller’s intent was to eliminate any responsibility on the Russian side for the assassination. Third, Magistrate Strazov and Miller checked the three person’s activities at Chegagu Station, and on the grounds that Ahn was a Korean national, judged that Japan had jurisdiction over the case. The Russian judiciary put maximum emphasis on the fact that there was no participation by Russians in the assassination, only Koreans. The utmost priority of the Japanese government at the time was to prevent Ahn’s grave from becoming a site of pilgrimage for the Korean independence movement. By the same token, the Japanese even refused to hand over Ahn’s body to his family until the end. In fact, the Japanese even buried Ahn in a Lushun Prison public cemetery. To thwart the plan to set up Ahn Jung-Geun’s grave in the cemetery for Koreans in Harbin, the Japanese most likely cremated Ahn’s body buried in the public cemetery in Lushun. After all, this paper traced the confrontation and cooperation of Russia