Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 10:41:00 -0400
Subject: FYI: Comfort Women Protest Hashimoto Visit to Korea
From: Brower, John M.
Comrades:
I thought this news item might be of interest to some re: Japanese military treatment of women during WW II. To whit...
VR,
J. Michael Brower
SEX SLAVES PROTEST AS HASHIMOTO ARRIVES IN S. KOREA
Copyright © 1996 Nando.net
Copyright © 1996 Reuter Information Service
CHEJU ISLAND, South Korea (Jun 22, 1996 11:53 a.m. EDT) - South Korean sex slaves for the Japanese army during World War Two staged a protest rally on Saturday as Japan's Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto arrived on a reconciliation visit.
The women demonstrated on the resort island of Cheju while in the capital Seoul, police beefed up security around the Japanese embassy and compound, fearing possible attacks during the prime minister's fence-mending visit.
Hashimoto's visit is intended to ease strained relations and discuss ways to achieve peace with North Korea.
Shortly before he arrived for summit talks with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Young-sam, a group of former wartime sex slaves for the Japanese forces held a noisy demonstration here.
The so-called "comfort women" are an emotional rallying point for anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea that dates from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.
Hashimoto's delicate mission to soothe resentments has been given urgency by a decision to jointly award soccer's 2002 World Cup finals to Japan and South Korea, and by North Korean sabre rattling along the border.
"I want to frankly exchange views on a wide range of issues with President Kim and engrave a new page in friendly relations between Japan and South Korea," Hashimoto told Kim at a banquet.
In his reply, Kim said: "I hope the two countries will be able to take this opportunity to shake off the fetters of history in the fourthcoming 21st century."
Hashimoto is accompanied by Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda on his two-day visit, during which he is expected to express some form of regret for the pain inflicted under colonialism.
"There are many issues of our immediate concern such as the situation in North Korea," Hashimoto told reporters accompanying him on the plane. "I would like to have President Kim's advice."
"We must have constant dialogue with our neighbour South Korea, particularly when the situation on the Korean peninsula remains uncertain," he added.
Hashimoto and Kim will discuss ways of persuading Pyongyang to agree to a proposal for four-nation peace talks including the two Koreas, the United States and China.
The proposal was made on Cheju island in April by U.S. President Bill Clinton and Kim and is intended to lead to a peace arrangement to replace an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea has called the truce accord a "worthless scrap of paper" and underlined that by sending troops into a neutral buffer zone in April.
Hashimoto told reporters he wanted easy-going talks with Kim. The last time the two met, in Bangkok in March, the atmosphere was tense because of a dispute over ownership of a cluster of uninhabited islands.
A diplomatic crisis over the Tokdo islands, known in Japan as Takeshima, has since simmered down.
"I want to have "free-talk' with President Kim in order to improve relations. That's the most important thing," Hashimoto said. "I want talks free of stiff shoulders."
He acknowledged anti-Japanese feelings in South Korea by recalling his first visit shortly after Tokyo and Seoul set up diplomatic ties in 1965.
"During the trip I learned what South Korea feels about Japan's colonial rule," he said.
"I hope co-hosting the World Cup will become an opportunity to build friendly relations between the two countries," he added.
He said he would discuss the World Cup with Kim,although Seoul officials have said the two are unlikely to deal with the practical problems, such as where to play the final match.
Hashimoto said he wanted opinions from Kim to pass on to leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations meeting in France next week. The G7 groups the United States, Japan, France, Britain, Canada, Germany, and Italy.
"Prime Minister Hashimoto must apologise and agree to compensate us with government funds," said Kang Soon-aie, 70, one of the protesting "comfort women" who said she was forced into a brothel for Japanese soldiers at age 13.
Hashimoto is formulating an apology to go along with compensation payouts of $18,500 each to about 300 surviving "comfort women."
-= END OF MESSAGE =-
Fellow Minerva followers
(Is "fellow" a male term, or is it sex neutral? Comments?)
I find the protests on the "comfort women" issue to be a little strained.
Having lived in both Japan and Korea, I am aware of the mutual animosity
between the two people. There is no question that Japan's treatment of
Korea between 1910 and 1945 was less than wonderful. (Sort of like the
treatment of Original Americans by the Old World Interlopers - except the
Koreans weren't herded into reservations.)
But when I was in Korea 1967-68, poor fathers (normally farmers) were selling
their daughters into prostitution for American forces. Selling, you
question? A father would take a "loan" using a daughter as collateral. The
brothel would then provide the girl with western clothing, give her a room
and meals. Out of her earnings she had to repay the loan, the advance and
the interest. Considering that a girl would charge as little as fifty cents
during the week before pay day, she rarely got out of hock. The only escape
was to have a GI fall for her, marry her, and get her out of Korea.
The prosititutes were shunned by other Koreans and any child was a pariah.
It may have changed since 1968, but I don't think so.
My point is - why do the protesters pick on the Japanese and not the
Americans? For that matter, why pick on either when it is the father and the
madams (normally a lucky ex-prostitute herself) that are the key players in
the procurement network. Wouldn't be a bit surprised if that wasn't how the
system worked for the Japanese, too.
Gene Moser
About Gene Moser's "comfort women" comment:
>I find the protests on the "comfort women" issue to be a little strained.
>But when I was in Korea 1967-68, poor fathers (normally farmers) were
selling
>their daughters into prostitution for American forces.
That was my first reaction when the issue first started surfacing, too. I assumed that these women had been sold by their fathers and were now protesting because pressuring Japan to apologize for atrocities in WWII had become the thing to do.
In fact, that reaction was pretty much what the Japanese government said: they knew nothing about government-sponsored brothels or people being forced into prostitution and claimed that any such brothels were an example of free enterprise at work... [I'm paraphrasing a bit liberally, please forgive me.] Basically, they said that the brothels, if they existed, were not run by the military and thus the government need not apologize for them and that the women in them were no better than they should be anyway.
But since then considerable evidence, in government archives and elsewhere, has appeared that makes it clear that at least some of these women were kidnapped or tricked ("come work in our war plant") into prostitution, in "comfort stations" that were set up by the Japanese military.
Moreover, while the existence of the custom of selling daughters into prostitution in a particular culture should not in itself make us reject the testimony of women who say they were not sold by their families, I would like to point out that Dutch women imprisoned by the Japanese in what is now Indonesia have also given testimony about being forced to service Japanese troops at military-run "comfort stations."
Would Minerva like more info on the "comfort women" issue? I would be able to work on it from the now extensive Japanese literature as well as what's gotten into the English press. The topic ties in with my long-dormant dissertation on the depiction of women of the demimonde (prostitutes, geishas, kept women) in Japanese literature.
BTW, Japanese women were being sold into brothels, in much the way Gene described, until prostitution was outlawed here in 1957. Repulsive as it may seem, even if women are being regarded as chattel, there is a difference between a family's deciding to sell a member and that person's being stolen or tricked into prostitution.
Ruth S. McCreery The Word Works, Ltd.
Phone: 045-314-9324
Fax: 045-316-4409
Mobile: 030-430-0565
E-mail: rsm@twics.com
MXA00712@niftyserve.or.jp
I found your statement curious, why you would note the poor farmer fathers, the madams, at fault. You failed to mention the Johns. If I recall in basic economics....if there is not a demand for an item....then the item doesn't sell. Why is it that US GI's get off so lightly? I can't imagine a father selling his daughter to make ends meet, or whatever the reason. I find that the GI's place all the blame and shame on others when it should be themselves who should bear most of the disgrace. After all we are not talking a humane life..we are talking about a version of slavery....sex for money, and one's freedom.
Dorothy H. Mackey
Approximately one month ago, several list members raised questions concerning the Japanese "comfort women" of World War Two. Since that time, I have read George Hicks' book on them ("The Comfort Women," Norton, 1995) and will attempt to answer some of those questions. Page references are noted in parentheses.
1. Why has this issue remained dormant for so long?
Hicks notes several reasons why this issue surfaced only recently. In societies in which chastity is of high value, the comfort women "had everything to gain by keeping silent and everything to lose by making accusations." (21) With prospects for marriage ruined by speaking out, they preferred to keep their ordeal secret rather than push for compensation.
Furthermore, "[t]he task of uncovering the history of the comfort women has thus far been delayed by such factors as the destruction of evidence by the Japanese Armed Forces, the Japanese government's insincere attitude toward war responsibility and social prejudice against comfort women." The Japanese were all too happy to avoid the issue. Government officials have attempted to deny or shift responsibility in a number of ways, for example, by claiming that comfort women were volunteers, working for private operators, over which the military maintained only limited supervision.
Hicks also notes that, with one exception, the Western Allies did not press the issue. While other atrocities such as the abuse of prisoners of war and the massacre of civilians were dealt with by the Tokyo war crimes trials, with the outbreak of the Cold War, such trials ceased. Only the Dutch took action, on behalf of Dutch women. This lone exception, oddly and improperly conducted, was often forgotten, or simply dismissed by the Japanese as anomaly, if not injustice.
Perhaps most importantly, South Korea, whose women were the primary victims, was both distracted by war, and long ruled by men who did not countenance any demonstrations or protests. Its leaders refused to normalize relations with Japan until 1965, and after that remained unwilling to challenge Tokyo, at least in part owing to economic dependence.
2. Why has this issue surfaced now?
Comfort women began demanding redress in earnest in the late 1980's and 1990's. By this time, some individuals no longer had any family upon whom they might cast "shame."
Fusthermore, Asian attitudes toward women's rights had begun to change. Groups and individuals began to link the issue with the problem of sexual oppression of women as a whole. (250) "Simultaneously shocking from the standpoints of morality, feminism and patriotism," the issue could be used to arouse feelings against current practices, including the continued sex trade across Asia.(175)
Beginning in the late 1980's, advocates for the South Korean comfort women have made six demands:
"By this means," they have claimed, "Japan can be absolved of its guilt and become a democratic state endowed with true morality."
The Japanese government initially replied by claiming that there was no evidence of a forced draft, and hence no need for apologies, memorials or disclosures.
Anger at that response prompted many women to come forward, and in some cases, to file suit. Comfort women from other nations joined the South Koreans in protest. All the while, scholars gradually uncovered irrefutable evidence that the Japanese military was behind the running of comfort stations.
Following more Japanese stalling, the South Korean government got involved in 1992. Several other nations have since joined suit.
In August, 1993, for the first time, the Japanese admitted the use of deception, coercion and official involvement in the recruitment of comfort women. (264) "The apology was along the lines that the government takes this opportunity to offer its deepest apology and sense of self-reproach to all the women for their irreparable mental and physical suffering and injuries, promising that means of compensation would be studied, and the lessons of history squarely faced. (265) The book ends following this point.
3. Why should this long-dormant issue be pursued?
First and foremost, this is a crime which has gone unpunished.
The most powerful sections of the book are the personal accounts of the comfort women. Intermittently throughout the work, women tell of being violently deflowered and then forced to service dozens of men per day in a melange of dehumanizing ways.
One is left aghast at the physical pain the women endured. "I was continuously raw" writes one woman. "Sex was excruciating." (12-13) Many emerged from their service with physical scars, nearly all of which were inflicted by Japanese officers. While a few managed to injure their tormentors in kind, "one forms the impression that many clients may have preferred this kind of sado-masochistic drama to tame submission." (63-4).
Sadism is a recurring theme of the women's stories, along with the blatant abuse of force. "As I lay there naked on the bed," writes another, "he slowly ran the sword over my body ... He played with me like a cat plays with a helpless mouse ... He threw himself on top of me ... he was too strong ... To me, this brutal and inhuman rape was worse than dying... The night was not over yet, there were more Japanese waiting ... this was only the beginning. (63)
Beyond the damaged hips, the crippled legs, abdominal scars, broken bones, ruptured eardrums and missing teeth, comes even more devastating psychological trauma. One woman speaks of her inability to "relinquish her fear of sex and hatred of men, which extends even to ... her grandson." (20) "I just hate all men and I hate sex." (166). Others have narrowed their rage. "I was stripped of every shred of pride and dignity as well. ... how I hate the Japanese!" (259). "Cannot hate them enough" says another comfort woman, who was seized on the very eve of her wedding. (268-9).
The anguish they have endured has been worsened by the fact that the victims could not find release in an open acknowledgement of the wrong done to them. A former Filipina comfort woman, now a grandmother of twelve, stressed the need for justice as follows: "Our lives were wasted by the Japanese. We were treated like animals. Japan should at least say that it is sorry." (244) Indeed they should, and then some.
Curiously, many Japanese right-wing organizations have responded to even vague apologies with intense venom. They claim that Japan was not responsible for the war, that their actions were not lawless by the standards of the day, and that human rights were denied to all under wartime conditions. The present stir, many have claimed, is but economically motivated to put pressure on Japan.
Such responses alert one to another reason why this issue must be pursued. Japan has too often attempted to cover up, or has failed to inform and educate young Japanese on less heroic aspects of the war. Overall there is a pervasive taboo on discussion of the war, giving one the appearance of "national amnesia."(272) This issue "raises afresh the question of Japanese reluctance to acknowledge wartime atrocities." (16) What is needed is "not only apology and compensation, but proper understanding of history by all Japanese." (252)
In one paragraph which may best sum up the reasons to pursue this issue, the Comfort Women Problem Resolution Council of South Korea concluded: "Even among the war crimes committed by Japan, the comfort women issue involved the most inhuman, atrocious national crimes, unparalleled in the world. We have consistently demanded that the concealed truth of the matter be brought to light and that apology and compensation be made to the victims. This is a move designed to restore the human rights denied the comfort women. It also aims to correct the distortions in the history of Korean and Japanese relations and to sound an alarm bell to the world so that such war crimes are not repeated." (231)
4. Was this really any different than other cases of prostitution, government-enforced or otherwise?
This is the most difficult question to answer.
Imperial Japan was not the first nation to procure women to provide sexual services to its soldiers. Hicks provides several historical examples, noting that "more or less institutionalized means have always been found for catering to this primitive sexual need." Justification for such has always been to control disease, and to "keep the troops more contented and tractable, forestalling the danger of rape among civilian populations."(30)
Hicks is certainly correct to note that American soldiers claimed from the comfort women "the same sort of service their Japanese counterparts had" (four comfort stations in Tokyo alone serviced Americans after the war). He is also right to note the "link between the sexual activities of the Japanese Armed Forces and that of the American Occupation Force as two sides of the same coin - the exploitation of women (194).
Hicks might do well, at times, to clearly note the differences as well. Consider the following: Scholars of the Holocaust, by way of comparison, distinguish that event from many other examples of genocide by noting the scope and scale of the deprivations, and the extent of involvement of modern bureaucracies in the business of torture and murder. It would seem that the Japanese case similarly extends well beyond other historical examples of military prostitution. Both the Home Government and the Imperial Armed Forces can be implicated in what represents a most ghastly case of such abuse, involving "the legalized military rape of subject women on a scale . . . previously unknown in history."
Not only was the scale of deprivations extraordinary, but so too were the sufferings, worsened by a intensely hierarchial military that strayed far "beyond the rational requirements of discipline." Within the armed forces recruits endured daily abuse in a dehumanizing process designed to secure complete obedience. (81). The comfort women, supposedly supplied to "relieve tension," endured excessive mistreatment, especially from the officers. They who treated their own men as an inferior species, showed even more contempt for women whom they often regarded as not only sexually but racially inferior. (73) As one officer put it, "They're less than cattle." (164).
There is also no doubt of extensive bureaucratic involvement. Women were procured in one of three ways. Initially recruiters searched for volunteers, finding some among professional prostitutes. Then they deceived young women with promises of cooking, laundry, nursing or waitressing jobs. Finally, young women were seized in virtual slave raids. (The saddest of all the stories, IMHO, is of one woman who not only suffered many of the deprivations noted above, but also witnessed her father beheaded as he attempted to save her from the impressment gangs).
While some (not all) of the "recruiting" was handled by private operators, the Japanese Armed Forces "controlled the comfort stations in such respects as laying down regulations for them and conducting examinations of venereal disease." (184) While there were no uniform standards, posted regulations covered the hours of opening, bathing procedures, the length of each visit, the required use of condoms, (some of which were washed for re-use in shortage-stricken areas) and the scale of fees. The military bureaucracy treated the women as one would handle standard military supplies. With the exception of a twisted, recurrent concern for decorum (amidst the satisfaction of rather brute "male needs") they ran the comfort stations in a disturbingly banal, indifferent fashion.
I would thus argue, and I strongly believe that Hicks would agree, that this truly was an exceptional, unprecedented and atrocious series of acts that "starkly demonstrates how militarism combined with patriarchy mercilessly trampled women's sexuality and obliterated their humanity." (253)
Comments and criticisms welcome,
J.J. Roberts
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