Comfort woman: Past and present

[Keel]

The Japanese government in particular Abe denies the atrocities done to the innocent women by imperial japan

They want the poor women to phase out, one by one due to old age or diseases and the widespread and most devastating tragedies be forgotten by the rest of the world



Japanese PM denies wartime 'comfort women' were forced - Telegraph

Japan’s World War II “Comfort Women”. Denial of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo | Global Research
Japan’s World War II “Comfort Women”. Denial of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo
“If we don’t face our past, we’re bound to repeat the same mistakes.” Japanese wartime medical orderly reports on army’s role in maintaining “comfort women” system
By David McNeill
Global Research, October 22, 2014
The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 42, No. 1
Region: Asia
Theme: Crimes against Humanity, Culture, Society & History, Law and Justice, Women's Rights
73

22 7

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This article contains David McNeill’s introduction followed by Matsumoto Masayoshi’s testimony (Japanese and English transcript and video of testimony), translation by Miguel Quintana

For years, Abe Shinzo, Japan’s prime minister, has been playing with diplomatic fire over a sordid episode of wartime history that has been at the center of a storm of controversy involving Japan, China, Korea and other outposts of Japan’s empire: the herding of thousands of women across Asia into Japanese military brothels. His decision this year to order an investigation into a landmark government apology to the so-called “comfort women” might have helped end the controversy. Instead, it has further ignited it, which may indeed have been Abe’s intention – he has campaigned for nearly two decades to undermine the apology.

The 1993 Kono statement, compiled in consultation with South Korea by Japan’s then chief cabinet secretary Kono Yohei, acknowledged the army’s role in forcing the women into sexual slavery. Nationalists, championed by the Yomiuri, Japan’s most popular newspaper, deny coercion and insist the women voluntarily provided “comfort” to frontline troops. They have repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of the so-called Kono statement, with potentially explosive diplomatic consequences.

In June, a government panel set up by Abe said the facts used to draft the statement were accurate and there are no plans to change it. But the panel’s report also revealed that the statement was the product of months of secret negotiations with South Korean diplomats. The diplomatic record reveals intense discussion on the level of “coerciveness” used to recruit the women, with Japan implying that some may have gone to brothels voluntarily. Predictably, perhaps, revisionists say that proves the statement was a political fudge, not an admission of official responsibility.

The campaign to rewrite the Kono statement has been given an added push by the decision of the Asahi newspaper in August to retract a series of articles it carried on the comfort women. The articles, written in the 1980s and ‘90s, some of which used a now discredited witness called Yoshida Seiji, were not true, said the newspaper. The editors had been “unable to see through” Yoshida’s “fraudulent testimony” they admitted ruefully.

The humbling of Japan’s liberal flagship has triggered a tsunami of abuse. The Yomiuri said the Asahi’s coverage had helped fuel anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea, and became a basis of “misperception of Japan” throughout the world. Abe told the Sankei newspaper, which has led a two-decade campaign against the Kono Statement that “many people had suffered” because of the Asahi’s reporting. Emboldened, ultra-nationalists have threatened to firebomb universities that employ ex-Asahi journalists.

A boycott campaign, led by the Sankei, has taken a toll. Asahi’s circulation is down by 770,000 since November 2013. A national “anti-Asahi Shimbun” committee, led by lawmaker Nakayama Nariaki, is seeking to press the advantage. Its inaugural conference in Tokyo this month (Oct. 25th) will discuss plans to widen the boycott and haul Asahi editors and journalists before the Diet. The committee’s ultimate aim is clear: pressure the government to rewrite the Kono statement and in the words of cabinet minister Inada Tomomi, “restore Japan’s honor.”

Neonationalists such as Inada have ignored a string of well-documented reports making it clear that the Asahi’s coverage of Yoshida had relatively little impact on the surge of interest in the comfort women issue in Japan and internationally, and in no way detracts from the extensive documentation of military and government involvement in the comfort women system. Many of those involved in the 2007 US House of Representatives Comfort Women resolution 121, for instance, including Dennis Halpin, a former senior Asia policy staffer, said in September that: “There was ample documentary and testimonial evidence from across the Indo-Pacific region to support the fact that Imperial Japan organized and managed a system of sexual slavery for its military…” The Yoshida memoir and Asahi’s reporting of it were “not factors” in drafting the resolution, they added.

Nevertheless, several members of Abe’s cabinet are gearing up for a demand that the statement be withdrawn next year, the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II – and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of relations with South Korea, an action, if successful, that is certain to poison Japan’s relations with South Korea, China and other Asian countries.

Abe, as a parliamentarian, long supported nationalist think tanks that reject Japan’s “apology diplomacy” for its wartime misdeeds. During his first term as prime minister in 2007, he got himself into hot water by saying there was “no proof” the comfort women were coerced by the military. But in March, 2014 he bowed to pressure by pledging not to revise the Kono statement.

Ironically, the statement was intended to end the controversy and reset the diplomatic compass. Instead, the dispute has festered and spread to the US, where a string of memorials to the comfort women, erected by Korean communities, has triggered Japanese diplomatic protests.

One way out of the impasse might be to shift the probe to the perpetrators. Matsumoto Masayoshi, a former medical orderly with the Japanese army, has spoken outthis yearabout what he saw. Matsumoto,92,says Korean women were used like public toilets, with soldiers lining up to rape them. He has offered to tell what happened to anyone who will listen. It might come as no surprise to learn that nobody from Abe’s government has bothered to turn up and hear his story.

Also see the embedded video
Japan’s World War II “Comfort Women”. Denial of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo | Global Research
Matsumoto full video: Japanese testimony with English translation by Miguel Quintana
and the transcript beneath the video

 

[Aepsilons]

Nihonjin, I think you are intelligent.

Japanese government Abe want to pepper over the responsibility of Comfort Women and it is happening now.

This is an old issue but the initiative of denial of Comfort Women is on going.

On behalf on Japan, I hope some big shot will come out and say Mea Culpa.

Below is 4 weeks ago, the new shit done by Japanese.

History Clean: Japan deletes WWII 'comfort women' chapters from textbooks

he Japanese government appears to have developed an effective method for dealing with the darker chapters of its history. It's simply getting rid of some unpleasant facts from its high school textbooks. The Education Ministry gave the go-ahead to take out passages about the plight of so-called 'comfort women' from China, South Korea and other parts of Asia during World War II.

It has been 70 years since the end of the war. I say let it die.

 

[Keel]

23 October 2014 Last updated at 07:44
Media slam Japan over 'comfort women' denial

A former "comfort woman" demands justice near the parliament in Tokyo


Media in China slam Japan over its latest denial that it was using "comfort women" during World War II forcing them to work in military brothels .

According to reports, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has rejected his predecessor Yohei Kono's statement made in 1993, admitting that the Japanese military had coerced women into being sex slaves.

A commentary in the People's Liberation Army Daily observes that this is the first time the Japanese government has openly rejected Mr Kono's admission.

Criticising right-wing forces in Japan, the article says the "denial" and "distortion" of history have strongly damaged the reputation of the country.

Lashing out at Japan, a front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily says that "denial of history will never earn respect".

"The administration of PM Shinzo Abe is scheming to escape responsibilities and cover up their wrongdoing, but no matter what means they resort to, they are not able to deceive anyone," writes the paper.

"Japan has said it wants to be a peaceful nation and calls for meetings with the top leaders of neighbouring countries to develop friendly ties, but it keeps denying its sins of militarism, causing its neighbours and the international community to be worried," says the article.

A report in the Guangming Daily accuses Japan of duplicity.

"The Abe regime is trying to be friendly with Beijing, Seoul and Pyongyang and is temporarily hiding its arrogance in order to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough," says the daily, "However, Mr Suga's comments remind us once again that the conservative right-wing forces in Japan have never stopped distorting history by using even more despicable and sinister means."

Hong Kong protests
Meanwhile, papers are stepping up calls for protests in Hong Kong to end, after talks between the authorities and student leaders ended in deadlock.

Describing the protesters as "political fanatics" who insist "on demands that have no legal standing", the China Daily points out that electoral reform "must always be done within the legal framework… in accordance with the Basic Law".

"The delusion of eventually turning the city into an independent political entity… is a road leading to a dead end," the paper argues.

"It is time for student leaders and other organizers of the 'Occupy' campaign to call off their protests and get back on the right track. After all, standing on a treacherous fault line, they stand no chance of achieving what they want," China Daily concludes.

Echoing similar views, an article in the Haiwai Net also urges the protesters "not to miss the opportunity" to end their campaign.

The article points out that the Hong Kong government has made it clear it will "feedback the opinion of the people to Beijing".

"The government's statement has provided student leaders with an opportunity to step down (to prevent embarrassment). What the government really meant is: 'We are unable to accede to your illegal request; we will convey your message and you should disperse,'" explains the article.

It further warns that the authorities have obtained "evidence of the protesters' illegal actions" and that no-one will be able to rescue them "from the grip of the law".

A strongly worded commentary by the Xinhua news agency lambasts some Hong Kong celebrities for supporting the protest.

"Chapman To and the like, stop thinking that you could still eat from us while breaking our pot," exclaims the article.

The agency claims that close to 100,000 netizens in mainland China have called for a boycott on Hong Kong celebrities.

"The netizens' counter-attack on these heartless celebrities upholds justice. It is also a display of patriotism," says Xinhua. The agency criticises Hong Kong celebrities for being "ungrateful", as "the mainland market and fans are the ones who feed them".

Army troubles
And finally, media highlight a discussion about the need to apply the "rule of law" in the armed forces after a powerful military body warned of "ideological struggles" in the army.

On Wednesday, the Central Military Commission published a front-page article in the People's Liberation Army Daily, urging the military to remain loyal to the Communist Party's leadership and strengthen the "rule of law".

The article notes that ideological struggles and differing views within the People's Liberation Army (PLA) are "exceptionally acute and complicated", and that military reform could be hindered by "structural problems".

"There have been some public intellectuals advocating the nationalisation of the army through disaffiliating it from the Party's leadership," PLA Major General Luo Yuan tells English-language dailyGlobal Times.

Talking to the same paper, military expert Xu Guangyu points out that "the army has to address the corruption problem".

BBC News - Media slam Japan over 'comfort women' denial

 

[doppelganger]

This is what, the hundredth thread on this issue?

I am curious, so was wondering if I could get a Japanese perspective.

For how long more is Japan going to continue to be contrite about WWII and pacifist? I ask because of China. Germany did not go nuclear in spite of the big bear, because of NATO.

Japan till now has the US. But we hear Japanese increasingly want the US out. And Japan is beginning to flex its maritime muscle. And Abe is at the head of a young resurgent nationalistic militarism movement by the look of things. With Japan increasingly remembering and honoring its warriors of WWII.

Without the US protective umbrella, do you see a possibility of Japan going nuclear? I think that's my basic question.

 

[Aepsilons]

I am curious, so was wondering if I could get a Japanese perspective.

For how long more is Japan going to continue to be contrite about WWII and pacifist? I ask because of China. Germany did not go nuclear in spite of the big bear, because of NATO.

Japan till now has the US. But we hear Japanese increasingly want the US out. And Japan is beginning to flex its maritime muscle. And Abe is at the head of a young resurgent nationalistic militarism movement by the look of things. With Japan increasingly remembering and honoring its warriors of WWII.

Without the US protective umbrella, do you see a possibility of Japan going nuclear? I think that's my basic question.

Japan has the capability to build nuclear weapons within 3-6 months time. In the event that the United States is to 'pull out', Japan would have already developed nuclear weapons some 1-2 years before. Not too much , but enough to eviscerate our enemies in the event that they should threaten us.

 

[doppelganger]

Japan has the capability to build nuclear weapons within 3-6 months time. In the event that the United States is to 'pull out', Japan would have already developed nuclear weapons some 1-2 years before. Not too much , but enough to eviscerate our enemies in the event that they should threaten us.

I think no one in the world doubts Japan's technical capabilities. Its no secret that both Japan and Germany were pretty close to the atomic bomb themselves when the US got there first.

So is yours a civilian lay public opinion or is it the generally accepted national narrative? Frankly, it would be great for us to have a nuclear Japan ......

 

[Keel]

The ugly face of Japan's 'pro-women' policy
OPINION
By Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Posted 10 Oct 2014, 12:11pmFri 10 Oct 2014, 12:11pm

PHOTO: Japan can't be a leader in women's rights while denying crucial aspects of its own history with "comfort women".(AFP: Romeo Gacad)


Japan wants to be a world leader in eliminating sexual violence during conflicts, yet the Abe government is forcibly denying aspects of its "comfort women" history and harassing anyone who dares speak of it, writes Tessa Morris-Suzuki.

On September 25 Japan's prime minister, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, pledged to make Japan a society where women shine, and added that his country would lead the international community in eliminating sexual violence during conflicts.

This is just one of a number of high-profile "pro-women" moves by Shinzo Abe. Earlier in September he was praised by the executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who reportedly described him as "setting an example to the world" by increasing the number of women cabinet ministers from two to five (out of 19).

But away from the glare of the world's media, other moves affecting women have also been under way in Japan.

On September 5, the Abe government's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, held a press conference at which he made plain his government's view that none of the tens of thousands of women taken into the Japanese military's wartime brothels - the so-called "comfort women" - were forcibly recruited by the Japanese military or police.

Journalists at the conference raised the question of Dutch women (including wartime internees) who were made to serve as "comfort women". One reporter referred to the careful study of this issue commissioned by the Dutch parliament and completed in 1994, which found that about 65 women had been forcibly recruited by the Japanese military or police for prostitution.

At first, Suga avoided answering the question, but went on to give the following statement:

The government's position is that in the government's examination (of the issue), it was not possible to find descriptions showing so-called forcible recruitment in which the military and related bodies were involved.

Abe and his political allies have long sought to minimise responsibility for this dark past in Japan's recent history by trying to make a distinction between women seized directly in their homes, neighbourhoods or workplaces by the military, and those who were first tricked by brokers and then handed over to the military. The latter, they have always said, were not "forcibly recruited".

Now they are denying all reports of forced recruitment everywhere.

This can only mean that they now also reject the findings of the 1994 Dutch report, as well as many testimonies of forced recruitment of women in other places throughout Japan's wartime empire.

This denial comes as Japanese journalists, historians, publishers and others who have tried to tell the story of the "comfort women" find themselves under fierce attack from right-wing groups.

The liberal Asahi newspaper, which has attempted to provide relatively balanced coverage of the topic, has been bitterly criticised by its right-wing rivals and by leading politicians.

The main trigger for this attack was a recent acknowledgment by the Asahi's editor that his paper had made an error some 25 years ago, when it published a statement by a former Japanese soldier who claimed to have been personally involved in recruiting "comfort women". A few years later, the soldier publicly retracted the claim.

Even though other newspapers also published stories on the soldier's testimony at the time, and even though the testimony has had no influence on serious debate about the "comfort women" issue for at least the past decade, the Asahi is now being publicly pilloried, and there have been threats to call its chief editor before parliament for questioning.

Both prime minister Abe and chief cabinet secretary Suga have recently condemned the Asahi for "bringing shame on Japan".

In an extraordinary campaign of coordinated public hostility, Japanese universities employing former Asahi journalists who have written on the "comfort women" issue now find themselves bombarded by emails and phone calls from right-wing groups demanding that they sack the academics concerned. This has led in at least one case to the sudden "early retirement" of an academic under attack.

Other academics have been attacked in the mainstream mass media for including material referring to the forced recruitment of comfort women in their classes. Concerned public commentators on this and other related issues have become the target of scurrilous attacks by right-wing weekly magazines. Most mainstream media have been cowed into silence, and only one or two small and brave journals still dare look critically at the government's denials or to publish the stories of former "comfort women" who speak of being forcibly recruited.

An active Japanese leadership role in eliminating sexual violence during conflicts would be welcome and is sorely needed by the world.

But Japan can't fulfil this role while denying crucial aspects of its own past violence against women, and harassing and suppressing its own citizens when they speak about that history.

Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki is an Australian Research Council Laureate F

 

[kawaraj]

Off the ground. Japan won't nuke mainland or any part of east Asia, and China won't nuke Japan either. This is called race presevation, let us quote our singaporen friend's race perspective.

The US nuked Japan instead of Germany, the reason is obvious.

In addition, Japan has no strategic depth and in NO WAY can survive a nuclear attack.

 

[Aepsilons]

I think no one in the world doubts Japan's technical capabilities. Its no secret that both Japan and Germany were pretty close to the atomic bomb themselves when the US got there first.

So is yours a civilian lay public opinion or is it the generally accepted national narrative? Frankly, it would be great for us to have a nuclear Japan ......

There were even reports , from years back, of Japan already developed nuclear weapons and have placed these in secret reserve. I do not know if there is truth to such reports , but one can never be too quick to dismiss it.

As for nuclear armament ; Japan should develop a 2nd strike capability --- through subs. But there is plenty of room for such developments to be realized in the immediate to long term future.

I think no one in the world doubts Japan's technical capabilities. Its no secret that both Japan and Germany were pretty close to the atomic bomb themselves when the US got there first.

So is yours a civilian lay public opinion or is it the generally accepted national narrative? Frankly, it would be great for us to have a nuclear Japan ......

Once Japan develops platforms (sub-launched cruise missiles), then it is a healthy analysis that Japan will have the ability to make a 2nd strike on any adversary.

 

[doppelganger]

Off the ground. Japan won't nuke mainland or any part of east Asia, and China won't nuke Japan either. This is called race presevation, let us quote our singaporen friend's race perspective.

The US nuked Japan instead of Germany, the reason is obvious.

In addition, Japan has no strategic depth and in NO WAY can survive a nuclear attack.

I agree strongly with you on the racial bit when it came to the twin strikes on Japan. There was most definitely a racial dehumanizing component to it involved, whatever else was the impact of the other factors that led up to the decision.

But if Japan does not have strategic depth, all the more it is imperative for them to go nuclear once the US umbrella is no longer there.

The two of us are the same race as well .... just reminding.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Off the ground. Japan won't nuke mainland or any part of east Asia, and China won't nuke Japan either. This is called race presevation, let us quote our singaporen friend's race perspective.

The US nuked Japan instead of Germany, the reason is obvious.

In addition, Japan has no strategic depth and in NO WAY can survive a nuclear attack.

China having nukes is enough, and we don't want any nuclear proliferation in Asia.

And those Japanese right-wing hotheads need to calm down, and China won't preserve Japan at the expense of damaging the Asian Mainland's future either.

 

[kawaraj]

In that sense, a nuclear Japan is more of a threat to the US, Russia than to China. I don't believe a underground nuclear project if going as the US won't allow.

And the US intellegence officers are not that incapable.

 

[doppelganger]

There were even reports , from years back, of Japan already developed nuclear weapons and have placed these in secret reserve. I do not know if there is truth to such reports , but one can never be too quick to dismiss it.

As for nuclear armament ; Japan should develop a 2nd strike capability --- through subs. But there is plenty of room for such developments to be realized in the immediate to long term future.

Once Japan develops platforms (sub-launched cruise missiles), then it is a healthy analysis that Japan will have the ability to make a 2nd strike on any adversary.

You already have some really good subs, which we too want from you.

What about ballistic ?

China having nukes is enough, and we don't want any nuclear proliferation in Asia.

The question is less about what China wants and more about what China can do to achieve that.

What can China do to stop Japan going nuclear? Sanctions?

 

[Aepsilons]

In that sense, a nuclear Japan is more of a threat to the US, Russia than to China. I don't believe a underground nuclear project if going as the US won't allow.

And the US intellegence officers are not that incapable.

US inspectors do not have complete access , they must be given clearance to access any military facility, and if they are , they are escorted. Long story short, the US does not have complete knowledge of all of Japan's military programs / intentions.

What can China do to stop Japan going nuclear? Sanctions?

lol

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

You already have some really good subs, which we too want from you.

What about ballistic ?



The question is less about what China wants and more about what China can do to achieve that.

What can China do to stop Japan going nuclear? Sanctions?

A nuclear Japan is against the interest of many parties, not just China.

If the US allows a country with bad record like Japan to possess nukes, and do you think they can still point its finger to Iran?

It is against the post-WWII order and stability, so the US won't cross that red line.