Japan's Crimes Against Women

Discussions on the Holocaust and 20th Century War Crimes. Note that Holocaust denial is not allowed. Hosted by David Thompson.
Dan
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#31

Post by Dan » 22 Mar 2005, 04:46

I would think that the Japanese armed forces were able to find more than enough poverty-stricken women in places like Korea and China who were willing to undertake sex work for minimal pay, so that they did not need to force anyone.


There was a documentary some months ago about Vietnamese women who provided sexual services to American troops during the war. I'm sorry, but I don't remember who aired it. Did anyone else see it? There was no shortage of peasant women who were more than happy to preform these services to our guys for a relatively small amount of money. I can't see why it would have been any different for Chinese and Korean women. Even American history, both North America and South is full of these examples.

Sorry I can't think of the documentary's title.

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Exxley
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#32

Post by Exxley » 22 Mar 2005, 14:13

Two reports from the UN commission on Human Rights investigated the "comfort stations" issues and they concluded that it was indeed a case of sexual slavery:

From the Coomaraswamy report
IX. RECOMMENDATIONS

136. The Special Rapporteur wishes to make the following recommendations which aim at the discharge of her mandate in a spirit of cooperation with the Governments concerned and at trying to understand the phenomenon of military sexual slavery in wartime within the wider framework of violence against women, its causes and consequences. The Special Rapporteur counts, in particular, on the cooperation of the Government of Japan, which has already shown, in discussions with the Special Rapporteur, its openness and willingness to act to render justice to the few surviving women victims of military sexual slavery carried out by the Japanese Imperial Army.

A. At the national level

137. The Government of Japan should:

(a) Acknowledge that the system of comfort stations set up by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War was a violation of its obligations under international law and accept legal responsibility for that violation;

(b) Pay compensation to individual victims of Japanese military sexual slavery according to principles outlined by the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on the right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for victims of grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. A special administrative tribunal for this purpose should be set up with a limited time-frame since many of the victims are of a very advanced age;

(c) Make a full disclosure of documents and materials in its possession with regard to comfort stations and other related activities of the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War;

(d) Make a public apology in writing to individual women who have come forward and can be substantiated as women victims of Japanese military sexual slavery;

(e) Raise awareness of these issues by amending educational curricula to reflect historical realities;

(f) Identify and punish, as far as possible, perpetrators involved in the recruitment and institutionalization of comfort stations during the Second World War.
Full text:
http://www.comfort-women.org/coomaras.htm

From the McDougall report:
69. The failure to settle these claims more than half a century after the cessation of hostilities is a testament to the degree to which the lives of women continue to be undervalued. Sadly, this failure to address crimes of a sexual nature committed on a massive scale during the Second World War has added to the level of impunity with which similar crimes are committed today. The Government of Japan has taken some steps to apologize and atone for the rape and enslavement of over 200,000 women and girls who were brutalized in "comfort stations" during the Second World War. However, anything less than full and unqualified acceptance by the Government of Japan of legal liability and the consequences that flow from such liability is wholly inadequate. It must now fall to the Government of Japan to take the necessary final steps to provide adequate redress.
Full text:

http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca ... endocument


michael mills
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#33

Post by michael mills » 25 Mar 2005, 03:13

There are some very interesting items of information in the Coomeraswamy Report.

11. The establishment of "comfort stations" providing on-site prostitutes for the Japanese army started as early as 1932, following hostilities between Japan and China in Shanghai. This was nearly a decade before the use of so-called "comfort women" became a widespread and regular phenomenon, as it had undoubtedly become in all parts of Japanese-controlled East Asia by the end of the Second World War. The first military sexual slaves were Koreans from the North Kyushu area of Japan, and were sent, at the request of one of the commanding officers of the army, by the Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture. The rationale behind the establishment of a formal system of comfort stations was that such an institutionalized and, therefore, controlled prostitution service would reduce the number of rape reports in areas where the army was based.

12. When, in 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanking, with resulting violence, the Japanese authorities were forced to consider the state of military discipline and morale. The comfort station plan as originally introduced in 1932 was revived. The Shanghai Special Branch used its contacts in the trading community to obtain as many women as possible for military sexual services by the end of 1937.
The above shows that the Japanese Government was concerned for the welfare of the population of the territories occupied by its armed forces, and wished to reduce the cases of rape of local women by Japanese soldiers, and the havoc caused by indiscipline. It wanted to avoid future outrages such as the mass rapes perpetrated at Nanjing.

19. Photographs of the stations, and even of the "comfort women" themselves in various contexts, have been preserved, along with a number of different records of the regulations of comfort stations in different parts of the Japanese Empire. Though little documentation remains that bears witness to the recruitment methods, the actual operation of the system is widely attested in records which survive from the period. The Japanese military meticulously recorded the details of a prostitution system that appeared as to be regarded as merely another amenity. The rules for comfort stations in Shanghai, Okinawa, other parts of Japan and China and the Philippines still survive, detailing, inter alia, rules for hygiene, hours of service, contraception, payment of women and prohibitions of alcohol and weapons.

20. These regulations are some of the most incriminating of the documents to have survived the war. Not only do they reveal beyond doubt the extent to which the Japanese forces took direct responsibility for the comfort stations and were intimately connected with all aspects of their organization, but they also clearly indicate how legitimized and established an institution the stations had become. Much attention seems to have been paid to see that the "comfort women" were treated correctly. The prohibition of alcohol and swords, the regulation of hours of service, reasonable payment and other attempts to impose what would appear to be a sense of decorum or fair treatment are in stark contrast with the brutality and cruelty of the practice.
The above rules demonstrate conclusively that the “ianfu” were not in a situation of slavery, but rather in an employer-employee relationship, receiving wages and regulated working conditions from their employer.

The fact Coomeraswamy has chosen to ignore the documentary evidence in favour of the sensational accounts of a grand total of 16 persons claiming to have been “ianfu” demonstrates her bias, and the low value of her report for historiographical purposes.


Many women speak of never having been allowed to leave the camp. Some were allowed to walk outside at set times each morning; others recall being allowed to make the occasional trip to have their hair cut or even to see a film.
Going to the movies? Hardly the conditions of slavery!

36. Food and clothing were provided by the army, though some former "comfort women" complain of having been kept short of food for long stretches of time. Though in nearly all cases the women were supposed to have been paid for their "services" and collected tickets in lieu of the pay they were due, only very few saw any "earnings" at the end of the war. Thus, even the small consolation of having perhaps saved enough to help themselves or their families after the war was rendered meaningless after the retreat of the Japanese army.
The fact that the sex-workers were unable to redeem their tickets for cash was due to the Japanese defeat, which rendered all promissory notes issued by the Japanese Government worthless. A bit like being paid in Confederate money.

If Japan had not been defeated, no doubt the “ianfu” would have returned to their native villages with a tidy nest-egg sufficient to elevate themselves and their families out of their rural poverty.
40. The Special Rapporteur noted that historian Dr. Ikuhiko Hata of Chiba University, Tokyo, refuted certain historical studies made on the issue of "comfort women", in particular Yoshida Seiji's book, which describes the plight of "comfort women" on Cheju-do island. Dr. Hata explained that he had visited Cheju-do, Republic of Korea, in 1991/92 seeking evidence and had come to the conclusion that the major perpetrators of the "comfort women crime" were in fact Korean district chiefs, brothel owners and even parents of the girls themselves who, he alleged, were aware of the purpose of the recruitment of their daughters. To substantiate his arguments, Dr. Hata presented the Special Rapporteur with two prototype systems of recruitment of Korean women for comfort houses in the years 1937 to 1945. Both models provide that Korean parents, Korean village chiefs and Korean brokers, that is to say private individuals, were knowing collaborators and instrumental in the recruitment of women to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese military. Dr. Hata also believed that most "comfort women" were under contract with the Japanese army and received up to 110 times more income per month (1,000-2,000 yen) than the average soldier (15-20 yen).
Despite Coomeraswamy’s tendentious use of the formulation “sex slaves”, the documented evidence of Dr Hata indicates that the “ianfu” were not slaves but paid contractors. The relatively high incomes earned by the “ianfu” suggests that there would have been no need to force women into this line of work. It sure beats slaving in the rice paddies!

The Special Rapporteur would like to refer, as an example, to the Ten Day Report of the 21st Army Unit of the Japanese Army stationed at Kwandong, China, from 11 to 21 April 1939, which states that military brothels were operated for officers and soldiers under the control of the military and that approximately 1,000 "comfort women" served 100,000 soldiers in that region.
The above figures enable a calculation of the work-load of the “ianfu”.

Assuming each soldier was allowed one visit to a “comfort station” per week, each “ianfu” would have to service 100 clinets per week. Assuming a five-day work week, that would mean 20 clients per day.

While that might seem burdensome, it should be borne in mind that the service provided was not an extended tantric session, but a 10-15 minute “quickie”. Accordingly, the actual wording time would be 20 x 15 minutes = 300 minutes = five hours. Allowing for 15 minutes between clients, that would mean a 10-hour working day, not excessive by the standards of the time.

If the soldiers received one visit every fortnight, the working day of the “ianfu” would be cut to five hours.

If the soldiers received a visit only every four weeks (a more likely proposition, given the reluctance of all armies to grant privileges), the working day would be only two and a half hours long. Plenty of time to see movies, go to the hair-dresser, and generally pity the less fortunate sisters scurrying around trying to scratch a living.

As one contributor to this Forum often comments, every army has its bad apples; what counts is the general policy of the army command. In the case of the “ianfu”, the documentary evidence shows that the intention of the Japanese armed forces was to treat them as paid employees with reasonable working conditions.

No doubt some of the soldiers who made use of the services provided by the “ianfu” abused them contrary to regulations. But they must have been the “bad apples”. The bad experiences of a small number of “ianfu”, even if entirely true, are not necessarily typical of the entire system of controlled military sexual service.

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Peter H
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#34

Post by Peter H » 25 Mar 2005, 13:25

To note:

(1)There was a vast difference between Japanese book regulations and reality.In New Guinea in 1942 the Army guide Notes on the Handling of Natives was issued, a wonderful document promoting harmony,co-operation and respect for the local population.However contract native carriers soon found their promised wages never eventuated,they were overworked and starved,and corporal punishment ranged from whippings to beheadings.Contrary to guidelines from far off Tokyo,local commanders could effectively do what they liked.

(2)Claims that Comfort Women were paid 110 times that of a lowly soldier would infer that the 200,000 or so estimated women would cost per annum the equivalent of 22 million soldiers in wages.Even if not paid during the war,such a large budget liability for a victorious postwar Japan would,in my view,not be fulfilled or honoured.

(3)Comparasions between Saigon bar girls and the Comfort Women are frivilous at best.The former were on their local turf,could come and go as they pleased,and were free agents.The latter were treated like chattel,could be shipped anywhere in Asia or the Pacific,and subject to the same brutuality,disease and starvation as Japanese servicemen.Even honest whores aren't that stupid.

(4)Bordello entrepeneurs will always try and source the cheapest alternative to a volunteer working girl.The current 'sexual slavery' situation in SE Asia,with shanghied underage Burmese girls ending up in the trade in Bangkok is a case in point.Much the same the IJA found itself doing the very same thing in the early 1940s.

(5)Like rape, some have a tendency to blame the victims.

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Exxley
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#35

Post by Exxley » 25 Mar 2005, 15:18

11. The establishment of "comfort stations" providing on-site prostitutes for the Japanese army started as early as 1932, following hostilities between Japan and China in Shanghai. This was nearly a decade before the use of so-called "comfort women" became a widespread and regular phenomenon, as it had undoubtedly become in all parts of Japanese-controlled East Asia by the end of the Second World War. The first military sexual slaves were Koreans from the North Kyushu area of Japan, and were sent, at the request of one of the commanding officers of the army, by the Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture. The rationale behind the establishment of a formal system of comfort stations was that such an institutionalized and, therefore, controlled prostitution service would reduce the number of rape reports in areas where the army was based.

12. When, in 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanking, with resulting violence, the Japanese authorities were forced to consider the state of military discipline and morale. The comfort station plan as originally introduced in 1932 was revived. The Shanghai Special Branch used its contacts in the trading community to obtain as many women as possible for military sexual services by the end of 1937.

The above shows that the Japanese Government was concerned for the welfare of the population of the territories occupied by its armed forces, and wished to reduce the cases of rape of local women by Japanese soldiers, and the havoc caused by indiscipline. It wanted to avoid future outrages such as the mass rapes perpetrated at Nanjing.
The above certainly doesnt show any direct concern for the welfare of the population. The main concern here is military discipline and morale.

19. Photographs of the stations, and even of the "comfort women" themselves in various contexts, have been preserved, along with a number of different records of the regulations of comfort stations in different parts of the Japanese Empire. Though little documentation remains that bears witness to the recruitment methods, the actual operation of the system is widely attested in records which survive from the period. The Japanese military meticulously recorded the details of a prostitution system that appeared as to be regarded as merely another amenity. The rules for comfort stations in Shanghai, Okinawa, other parts of Japan and China and the Philippines still survive, detailing, inter alia, rules for hygiene, hours of service, contraception, payment of women and prohibitions of alcohol and weapons.

20. These regulations are some of the most incriminating of the documents to have survived the war. Not only do they reveal beyond doubt the extent to which the Japanese forces took direct responsibility for the comfort stations and were intimately connected with all aspects of their organization, but they also clearly indicate how legitimized and established an institution the stations had become. Much attention seems to have been paid to see that the "comfort women" were treated correctly. The prohibition of alcohol and swords, the regulation of hours of service, reasonable payment and other attempts to impose what would appear to be a sense of decorum or fair treatment are in stark contrast with the brutality and cruelty of the practice.
The above rules demonstrate conclusively that the “ianfu” were not in a situation of slavery, but rather in an employer-employee relationship, receiving wages and regulated working conditions from their employer.

The fact Coomeraswamy has chosen to ignore the documentary evidence in favour of the sensational accounts of a grand total of 16 persons claiming to have been “ianfu” demonstrates her bias, and the low value of her report for historiographical purposes.
Oh really ?
14. As the war continued and the number of Japanese soldiers based in various parts of East Asia increased, the demand for military sexual slaves increased, so that new methods of recruitment were created. This involved the increased use of deception and force in many parts of East Asia, and especially in Korea. The testimonies of many Korean "comfort women" who have come forward reveals the frequency with which coercion or duplicity was employed: a considerable number of (mostly Korean) women victims speak in their testimonies of the deceit and pretense which were employed by the various agents or local collaborators who had been responsible for their recruitment. 1/

15. With the strengthening of the National General Mobilization Law by the Japanese Government, which had been passed in 1932 but which had not been fully implemented until the last few years of the war, both men and women were called upon to contribute to the war effort. In this connection, the Women's Voluntary Service Corps was established, ostensibly to procure women for work in factories or to perform other war-related duties to assist the Japanese army. Under this pretext, however, many women were deceived into serving as military sexual slaves and the association of the Service Corps with prostitution soon became well known.

16. Ultimately, the Japanese were able to procure more women for the increasing demands of the army by using violence and outright coercion. A large number of the women victims speak of violence used on family members who tried to prevent the abduction of their daughters and, in some cases, of being raped by soldiers in front of their parents before being forcibly taken off. One case study refers to Yo Bok Sil who, like many girls, was seized from her home and whose removal involved the beating of her father because he attempted to resist her abduction. 2/
Seems to me that lack of full knowledge of the work you're going to do and coercion as a way of recruiting workers are hardly the normal basis of a normal employer-employee relationship.

36. Food and clothing were provided by the army, though some former "comfort women" complain of having been kept short of food for long stretches of time. Though in nearly all cases the women were supposed to have been paid for their "services" and collected tickets in lieu of the pay they were due, only very few saw any "earnings" at the end of the war. Thus, even the small consolation of having perhaps saved enough to help themselves or their families after the war was rendered meaningless after the retreat of the Japanese army.
The fact that the sex-workers were unable to redeem their tickets for cash was due to the Japanese defeat, which rendered all promissory notes issued by the Japanese Government worthless. A bit like being paid in Confederate money.

If Japan had not been defeated, no doubt the “ianfu” would have returned to their native villages with a tidy nest-egg sufficient to elevate themselves and their families out of their rural poverty.
40. The Special Rapporteur noted that historian Dr. Ikuhiko Hata of Chiba University, Tokyo, refuted certain historical studies made on the issue of "comfort women", in particular Yoshida Seiji's book, which describes the plight of "comfort women" on Cheju-do island. Dr. Hata explained that he had visited Cheju-do, Republic of Korea, in 1991/92 seeking evidence and had come to the conclusion that the major perpetrators of the "comfort women crime" were in fact Korean district chiefs, brothel owners and even parents of the girls themselves who, he alleged, were aware of the purpose of the recruitment of their daughters. To substantiate his arguments, Dr. Hata presented the Special Rapporteur with two prototype systems of recruitment of Korean women for comfort houses in the years 1937 to 1945. Both models provide that Korean parents, Korean village chiefs and Korean brokers, that is to say private individuals, were knowing collaborators and instrumental in the recruitment of women to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese military. Dr. Hata also believed that most "comfort women" were under contract with the Japanese army and received up to 110 times more income per month (1,000-2,000 yen) than the average soldier (15-20 yen).
Despite Coomeraswamy’s tendentious use of the formulation “sex slaves”, the documented evidence of Dr Hata indicates that the “ianfu” were not slaves but paid contractors. The relatively high incomes earned by the “ianfu” suggests that there would have been no need to force women into this line of work. It sure beats slaving in the rice paddies!
Interesting point is the fact that the document shows no evidence of the so-called contract and the supposedly high income. Maybe Mr Mills should have noted the use of the word believed.

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#36

Post by michael mills » 26 Mar 2005, 03:26

Peter H wrote:
(5)Like rape, some have a tendency to blame the victims.
That is an irrelevant cheap shot that devalues the rest of Peter H's answer.
3)Comparasions between Saigon bar girls and the Comfort Women are frivilous at best.The former were on their local turf,could come and go as they pleased,and were free agents.The latter were treated like chattel,could be shipped anywhere in Asia or the Pacific,and subject to the same brutuality,disease and starvation as Japanese servicemen.Even honest whores aren't that stupid.
No doubt the "ianfu" stationed near the front in places like New Guinea shared the hardships endured by the Japanese servicemen in those same areas. But the emphasis is on "shared".

If the Japanese servicemen went short of food and lived in atrocious conditions as Japan's strategic situation began to deteriorate, then "ianfu" in the same areas suffered the same conditions. But the salient point is that the Japanese Army did not impose conditions on the "ianfu" that it was not subject to itself.

Rather than generalising from the conditions of life of the "ianfu" in areas where the Japanese servicemen were also living under extreme privation, it might be worthwhile to examine the conditions of the "ianfu" working in the officers' salons in areas more distant from the front and with better amenities, such as in the Netherlands East Indies, or in garrison towns in Indo-China or China. It is reasonable to assumethat there were variations in the actual conditions experienced by the "ianfu".

What is clear however is that the intention of the Japanese Government was to establish a system of contractual sex-work, in which the sex-workers would be paid a reasonable wage and work under regulated conditions, including protection from abuse. And as David Thompson tells us, it was the Government policy that counted.

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#37

Post by Exxley » 26 Mar 2005, 04:51

What is clear however is that the intention of the Japanese Government was to establish a system of contractual sex-work, in which the sex-workers would be paid a reasonable wage and work under regulated conditions, including protection from abuse. And as David Thompson tells us, it was the Government policy that counted.
Was it clear however is the fact that when it became evident that the so called regulated conditions were never met or fastly deteriorated, the Japanese Government did nothing to put an end to what was pure and simple sexual slavery.

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#38

Post by David Thompson » 26 Mar 2005, 06:30

For interested readers:

Cold Comfort
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010611&s=pollitt

The "comfort women" system
http://www.cmht.com/cases_cwcomfort2.php
The "Comfort Women" Project
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~soh/comfortwomen.html
Japan's Responsibility Toward Comfort Women Survivors
http://www.icasinc.org/lectures/soh3.html
Human Dignity and Sexual Culture: A Reflection on the 'Comfort Women' Issues
http://www.icasinc.org/2000/2000s/2000scss.html
Human Rights and Humanity: The Case of the "Comfort Women"
http://www.icasinc.org/lectures/cssl1998.html
Australian Stories: The Forgotten One
http://www.abc.net.au/austory/archives/ ... st2001.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/austory/transcripts/s351798.htm

Tokyo Tribunal 2000
http://www.iccwomen.org/tokyo/index.htm
Transcript of Oral Judgment
http://www.iccwomen.org/tokyo/summary.htm

Hwang Geum Joo et al. v. Japan

Comfort Women Complaint
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/comfortwomen-cmpl.pdf
Memorandum of points and authorities in support of motion for summary judgment
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/comfortwomen2.pdf
Plaintiffs' opposition to Defendants' motion to dismiss
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/comf-podmd.pdf
Plaintiffs' response to US Statement of Interest
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/comf-prtussoi.pdf
Memorandum opinion
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/comf-decision1.pdf
Appellants' opening brief
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/comfort-appeal.pdf
Petition for writ of certiorari
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/petition.pdf
Reply brief in support of writ for certiorari
http://www.cmht.com/pdfs/reply.pdf

Japanese treatment of American and European Female Prisoners
http://www.angellpro.com.au/women.htm

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#39

Post by Kim Sung » 07 Mar 2007, 05:52

What would Abe Shinzo say about this New York Times article?
No Comfort

Published: March 6, 2007


What part of “Japanese Army sex slaves” does Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, have so much trouble understanding and apologizing for?

The underlying facts have long been beyond serious dispute. During World War II, Japan’s Army set up sites where women rounded up from Japanese colonies like Korea were expected to deliver sexual services to Japan’s soldiers.

These were not commercial brothels. Force, explicit and implicit, was used in recruiting these women. What went on in them was serial rape, not prostitution. The Japanese Army’s involvement is documented in the government’s own defense files. A senior Tokyo official more or less apologized for this horrific crime in 1993. The unofficial fund set up to compensate victims is set to close down this month.

And Mr. Abe wants the issue to end there. Last week, he claimed that there was no evidence that the victims had been coerced. Yesterday, he grudgingly acknowledged the 1993 quasi apology, but only as part of a pre-emptive declaration that his government would reject the call, now pending in the United States Congress, for an official apology. America isn’t the only country interested in seeing Japan belatedly accept full responsibility. Korea and China are also infuriated by years of Japanese equivocations over the issue.

Mr. Abe seems less concerned with repairing Japan’s sullied international reputation than with appealing to a large right-wing faction within his Liberal Democratic Party that insists that the whole shameful episode was a case of healthy private enterprise. One ruling party lawmaker, in his misplaced zeal to exculpate the Army, even suggested the offensive analogy of a college that outsourced its cafeteria to a private firm.

Japan is only dishonored by such efforts to contort the truth.

The 1993 statement needs to be expanded upon, not whittled down. Parliament should issue a frank apology and provide generous official compensation to the surviving victims. It is time for Japan’s politicians — starting with Mr. Abe — to recognize that the first step toward overcoming a shameful past is acknowledging it.
A frank answer would be "I have two elections this year!".

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#40

Post by David Thompson » 07 Mar 2007, 06:44

Kim Sung -- You asked:
What would Abe Shinzo say about this New York Times article?
In this research section of the forum we don't care what Abe Shinzo might say. The purpose of the H&WC section is to discuss history, not modern politics. I have already closed one thread on the subject of "comfort women" (at http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=107989 ) because the posters could not keep from discussing psychology and present-day politics instead of history. We will both be unhappy if you try to resurrect that closed thread.

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#41

Post by Kim Sung » 27 Apr 2007, 18:40

The photo of a comfort women brothel newly found by a photographic researcher Jung Sung-Gil (정성길)

Image

http://blog.daum.net/four_season/11824921

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#42

Post by David Thompson » 27 Apr 2007, 20:49

A post from Kim Sung, disregarding the thread warning at http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 91#1030591 , was deleted by this moderator -- DT.

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#43

Post by Peter H » 28 Apr 2007, 08:30

"U.S. troops used 'comfort women' after WWII":

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 427a1.html
Japan's abhorrent practice of enslaving women to provide sex for its troops in the war had a little-known sequel: After its surrender -- with tacit approval by Occupation authorities -- Japan set up a similar "comfort women" system for Allied soldiers.

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Re: Japan's Crimes Against Women

#44

Post by David Thompson » 05 Jan 2010, 07:48

I split off a post from Brady, asking about Italian "comfort women," to give it a thread of its own at http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=161625 - DT.

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#45

Post by ChristopherPerrien » 06 Jan 2010, 01:51

Peter H wrote:"U.S. troops used 'comfort women' after WWII":

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 427a1.html
Japan's abhorrent practice of enslaving women to provide sex for its troops in the war had a little-known sequel: After its surrender -- with tacit approval by Occupation authorities -- Japan set up a similar "comfort women" system for Allied soldiers.
From searching the net, "prostitution" was not declared illegal in Japan until 1956, even then there was no penalty for breaking the law.

Futhermore ,AFAICT, though interesting field research 8-) , non-covert prostitution was both socially and legally condoned and tolerated on Okinawa as late as 1996.

So what is(was) your point(in 2007)?
(editted)
Feel no need to reply as didn't realize the age of your post.

Chris

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