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23. JAPAN
The State of Japan participated in the Korean War from its start in June 1950 to the issuing of the ceasefire in July 1953. Japan was still under the occupation of the Allied Forces at the time of the war and was not a member of the United Nations. It did not participate through providing medical or combat forces but through providing a method of transit for soldiers and matériel for the U.N. Forces throughout the war.
The primary casualties of Japan are from the sailors who were transporting cargo and matériel to Korea during the war. It is estimated that around 50 sailors’ lives were lost during the operations from 1950-1952; however, their deaths are not recognized as their operations were clandestine due to Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which states that they would no longer engage in any future wars.
The Korean War Memorial in Japan is located in Tokyo. There are numerous statues and commemorative structures on display in the memorial, including a monument bearing the names of 135 hakdo-byungs, or “student soldiers,” whose motherland was in Korea but were living in Japan at the time of the war.
See photos of the Memorial and videos of the veterans at https://koreanwarmemorials.com/memorial/tokyo-japan/
Japan was my country #23. I traveled to Tokyo from April 27, 2017 to May 4, 2017.