The historical wounds between Korea and Japan remain open. Decades after the war, resentment and mistrust still simmer beneath the surface. Hatred, inherited from generation to generation, often creeps in even among the youngest. In this context, the thought of friendship and reconciliation seems a distant dream. Yet in Tokyo, from August 13 to 19, a group of 27 young Koreans and Japanese gathered to do just that: build bridges, share faith and discover that light can still shine in the midst of darkness. It was the 5th Nikkan meeting, an annual appointment that since 2018 seeks to transform history with concrete gestures of fraternity.
On August 14, the anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, we gathered at Shiomi Church. Through the life of Kolbe, Franciscan Brother Zenon and Satoko Kitahara, a Japanese laywoman who dedicated her life to the poorest of the poor in the post-war period, we discovered that faith is capable of breaking down invisible walls.
The following day, August 15, brought together two commemorations that once would have been separate: for Japan, End of War Day; for Korea, Independence Day. Two young people from Hiroshima shared how growing up in a city scarred by the atomic bomb made them value peace as sacred. And we all wonder how to build it today.
There was also a moment of cultural intimacy: the homestay. Young Koreans lived in Japanese homes, had dinner with the families, learned their customs and shared daily life. Small gestures that become seeds of reconciliation.
Sora Fukuhara, one of the Japanese participants, put it clearly: "During the Nikkan we learned about the massacre of Koreans in the 1923 Tokyo earthquake. Although we are friends today, we all carry the history of our countries, which makes us adversaries and victims at the same time. But a Korean friend said, 'On a historical level, we are not on opposite sides, but on the same side, looking toward reconciliation.' I want us to build a good future together for Japan and South Korea as friends working for peace."
At a time when history still wounds and divides, this meeting was a reminder that all is not lost. Light shines in the darkness, and young people from two nations marked by pain decided to walk together, not to erase the past, but to write a different future. Because reconciliation does not begin in international treaties, but in hearts willing to look each other in the eye and say: "We can be friends".
