Four monks from Pusok Temple in South Chungcheong Province, Korea arrived in Tsushima, Nagasaki on Mar. 14 to meet with their Japanese counterparts about the issue of a Buddha statue stolen from Kannon Temple in Tsushima, but the Japanese monks refused to meet them. The Korean monks, who argue the statue cannot be returned until it is proven it wasn’t originally stolen from Korea, said “Japan and Korea should conduct a joint study on how the statues ended up in Japan. If the statue was obtained rightfully, then there must be a record of the transaction”. Pusok Temple claims it is the original owner of the statue known as Kannon Observing the Cries of the World, a designated tangible cultural asset of Nagasaki Prefecture that was housed at Kannon Temple until the theft. The Korean monks sent a letter announcing their visit, but when they arrived the temple gates were locked and no one answered. The former head monk of Kannon Temple expressed his displeasure by saying, “The moral thing to do is return stolen property to its owner.” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 15
