South Korean to return stolen Buddha statue to Japan

A temple in South Korea that claimed ownership of a Buddha statue stolen from Japan will not oppose returning it, a source close to the temple has revealed, but on the condition of holding a memorial service to pray for the repose of the statue before the return.

The seated Buddha statue, a Nagasaki Prefecture-designated cultural asset, was stolen from the Kannonji temple in the island city of Tsushima by a Korean theft ring in October 2012 and brought to South Korea before being confiscated by national investigative authorities. Buseoksa Temple in the central South Korean city of Seosan claimed ownership and filed a lawsuit against the South Korean government in 2016, insisting that the statue had been looted hundreds of years ago by a Japanese pirate group and demanding it be handed over to them. However, the Supreme Court of Korea recognized Kannonji temple’s ownership in October 2023.

According to a source close to Buseoksa, the temple requested to hold a memorial service and show the statue to local people for 100 days before returning it. The source told the Mainichi Shimbun, “Returning it straight from the repository to Japan would leave a root of trouble for the people concerned and local residents. We want it to go to Japan after a ritual. We hope to reach an agreement based on dialogue.” The source explained that a document indicating the Japanese side’s stance is expected to arrive around the following week.

Is Britain listening ? The King of UK must endeavour to return all the stolen and looted items from India by the British East India Company till 1857 and by the British Monarchy between 1857 to 1947 including the Kohinoor.