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Abe Has Been Voicing Doubts; Former Japanese Soldier Confirms Sexual Slavery

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Abe born after WWII?
The Japan times has an intense article today about Yasui Kaneko, a soldier admitting it was all true. There were sex slaves, raping, and pilaging.

Yasuji Kaneko, 87, still remembers the screams of the countless women he raped in China as a foot soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.
Some were teenagers from the Korean Peninsula serving as sex slaves in military-run brothels. Others were women in villages he and his comrades pillaged as they battled in eastern China.
“They cried out, but it didn’t matter to us whether the women lived or died,” Kaneko said in an interview at his Tokyo home. “We were the Emperor’s soldiers. Whether in military brothels or in the villages, we raped without reluctance.”

The article also gives a good summary of the current situation, Abe’s stiff-necked denial, and the soon to expire monetary compensations for the victims.

50 comments - What do you think? Posted by Claytonian - March 4, 2007 at 2:14 pm

Categories: Anti-Japan, Discrimination, General Japan, Politics Tags:

Ken

Most of persons with the name of ‘Kane’ something is Korean-Japanese.
Those who of ‘Kim’ in Korea had come to Japan named themselves ‘Kane’ something with using the same Chinese charactor which is pronounced ‘Kane’ in Japanese.

wahoo

I hope you are just one of shamed Japanese. The Japanese freinds I have are not like you but they are very kind and good. I must call you a monkey from Mar…

Bryan

Why are people like this allowed to still sit in the home saying, basically, ” Yeah I did all these terrible things…but the emperor made me do it!”

Not that there’s really a good answer to this or any other question revolving around Japan’s war crimes.

wahoo

It is called Democracy. He is saying this because Abe was educated with a lie. Probably those screams have been haunting his life and his conscience may have bothering him when he is looking his teen daughter and wife, and later his teen grand daughter… there isn’t many human being whose conscience can get away from those innocent scream to death…

tomojiro

That the Japanese soldiers looted, raded and raped chinese vilagers is well known and it is not denied. This article mixes all thing together, the Japanese atrocities in China, which is not the focus of the Abe statement and the problems of comfort women.

I have no doubt that there were many korean comfort woman who were forced to prostitute against their will, but the fuzz about what Abe has said is about how these women were forced, not the fackt that there were comfort women who were forced to prostitute, let alone about the atrocities of the Japanese soldiers in the chinese continet.

The media is going wild. They are trying to creat a scandal which scenario seems that Abe HAS DENIED ALL JAPANESE SEXUAL ATROCITIES.

Oh my God!!

wahoo

Media are not interested in the history of what he has been thinking or saying, Media just want to know what he is thinking right at that moment. And Abe in fact said what he should be condemed at that moment and his spoken person came up with an excuse trying to make every arguement confusing trap…But it is not going to work well because his statement was so big mistake to burn most bridge with Congress persons Abe administration have been lobbing.

http://bufanler.spaces.live.com Fan Zhang

Got to love sensationalism.

wahoo

me

http://kumanogengou.wordpress.com/ John

If Abe is being misunderstood, he’s inviting the misunderstanding by making absolute statements (“there is no evidence”) without qualifying his words. Additionally, even if there is some lack of historical clarity on the matter of which body (the Japanese government or intermediaries) literally intiated the perpetration of sexual slavery, it is astonishingly insensitive and irresponsible of Abe to split hairs about an atrocity like this, in this way.

Imagine if the president of some big corporation is approached by somebody from the mafia, who comes along with some girls that he’s kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery. He offers them to the company’s employees for a price, and the president says okay. The C.E.O. and the hoodlum work out a deal. The girls are raped over and over, for years, with all the predictable consequences to their bodies and minds. Imagine now that you are the current president of that company. These same girls, now elderly women, approach your company (as do many other people) demanding that you take responsibility for what your company did to them all those years ago. And your response is that “there is no evidence” that your company forced the girls to have sex with your company’s employees. What a rationalization!

wahoo

What is sad reality is most non-Japanese don’t agree with your comment…
If Abe administration is wise enough, then they just admit it and apologize it and put a period. Nobody will criticise Abe but will repect him… And a new Japan will be welcomed by its neighbors…

tomojiro

John you are missing the whole point! He is not denying this! He said that since there are no evidence so far that YOUR COMPANY HAS DIRECTLY CONDUCTED THE MAFIAUESQE KIDNAPPING, the implication of the word coercion should be redefined. NOT DENYING THAT THERE WAS NEVER A COERCION.

FXXK, I hate to side with Abe!!
http://kumanogengou.wordpress.com/ John

That’s precisely what I said. Abe is saying there is no evidence that the Japanse government conducted the kidnapping; he’s saying there is no evidence that Japanese government coerced the women to be sex slaves. What point am I missing?

wahoo

John

The mistake you are making here is you are trying to approach this in a simple legal view. Comrfot women are being treated by humanitarian issue, women abuse, women protection issue during war (this directly reflects Iraq), war vicitm as women, the fairness of War Crime trials, the justice system of US Congress, a study about Japanese attitude toward WWII , etc.

This type of bad history specially about the women abuse will be always hot topic.
Trust me this comfort women will be studied and taught over and over in most US or EU college, not the way Japanese are taught in Japan. I learned this in SUNY in US.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

John:

His statement that there is no evidence of coercing the women was taken out of context when it appeared in the English language media. He was saying that the wider definition of “coercion,” which would include such things as an official policy of Japanese troops kidnapping women, did not have evidence to support it. He has stated before that he supports the Kono Statement (Japan’s official apology) and his latest statements were a discussion of how one would define “coercion” as it is mentioned in the apology. His actual statement, when put into the nuanced context he was using it in, is far less absolute than the western press would have us believe.

I actually saw a similar article yesterday and found its mention of Yasuji Kaneko to be pretty sensationalist. The author of the article is bringing up the rape of Chinese villagers, something entirely different from comfort women, and making the reader think Abe is denying it. This article, and many others like it, are making it look like Abe has denied that sexual slavery existed at all, which is not true.

I certainly don’t agree with the approach Abe is taking. Even if his statements were not as absolutist as they were made out in the western media, it does seem that he is properly addressing the personal testimony of witnesses. I doubt he’ll be able to recover relations with South Korea after his latest restatement of his already publically-known opinion made their way into the international press.

wahoo

James

I think this is no longer something between Korea and Japan. It is between US congress and Japanese administration. Mr Honda, 3rd generation Japanese- American who started this comfort women things in US knows who to deal with this. I think South Korea government is just watching in order to keep thing in more neutral. I heard Japanese-American went through a miserable life after Pearl Habor. I think a document showing US government tried to kill all Japanese in US after Pearl Habor. And later US government apologized it directly to Japanese American…Mr Honda’s family is a very unique victim not as much as confort women. I just want to tell you Mr Honda, a Japanese knows how Japanese work things out. Abe’s way won’t work with Mr Honda.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

-This is entirely an issue between Japan and Korea, because Koreans made up the largest non-Japanese group within the comfort women.

-The South Korean government is not neutral in this issue. President Roh is constantly making statements about how Japan distorts and lies about history, fueling the perception that Japan has never apologized and denies the existence of comfort women.

-The internment of Japanese Americans has absolutely nothing to do with the comfort women issue.

wahoo

I am not saying this is not an issue between Japan and Korea. But now this issue are developed into Korean-American who backed up US congress Vs. Japanese Goverment. Pretty soon Chinese-American will join…”unfairly”, there are not many American-Japanese, who can support the Congress…

Do you know who controls US to attack Iraq?

What I am saying here is this is no longer some historical disputation in far east. Abe and his administration shouldn’t underestimate it. They should do their best to put an official period on this. I think everyone get tired on this.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

“Do you know who controls US to attack Iraq?”

Who?
wahoo

You don’t know who controls the puppet called Bush?
http://www.japanprobe.com James

Could you please enlighten me?
wahoo

If I tell you, I’ve got to kill ya… a Navy Joke about their battle ship location.

All I am trying to say above is ” don’t underestimate the power of the voice of US Citizens in US “
wahoo

I believe the one who controls US to attack Iraq is the well-united minority who knows how to win the game they are playing better than their opponent. It is not important who are those minority.

Korean-American will make their “American dream”.
Abe statement blew up any odd he may have.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

I’m not really sure what you mean by “well-united minority.” Could you explain?

I’m guessing from your comment that it’s not Korean-Americans, but you’re kind of vague.
wahoo

No way, Korean American don’t have any issue with Iraq and they don’t care about Iraq as much as most other American don’t care about comfort women.

In my humble view, US is controled by minority, who know how to control majority.

What is important to know is that the majority that don’t care can be controled easily.

Most congress person will do best for their voters. Party always want to earn majority seats.

There are high population of Korean and Chinese in metropoitan area. To either party, one seat counts very important.
Supporting comfort women will get these votes from Korean and Chinese from these area while nothing happens to other area of not much of Korean/Chinese population.
Not support comfort women would be so stupid as party standpoint.

Of course, the reality is more complicated than this.

And Japan can not blame this for anyone except themselves because it was Japan who created this valuable political issue to the country where Korean and Chinese live…

my 2 cents.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

So you’re talking about another ethnic minority, one that cares about Iraq? Who would that be?

http://www.japanprobe.com James

Also, a link I recommend for further reading on the comfort women issue and how it is being used politically: this article.
Sima

Yasuji Kaneko is a member of 中帰連, cyu-ki-ren.
After the war, 600,000 Japanese soldiers were captured by the soviet. A thousand of them were sent to China in 1950, and came back to Japan in 1957. Then they formed 中帰連.
He also claims that he witnessed the army used bio and chemical weapons against chinese civilians as 三光作戦, the operation of san-kou, means that 殺光・槍光・焼光, kill all rob all burn all).
三光作戦 is not a name of the imperial army’s operation, and it is not even Japanese.
There are some suppositions about where it came from, but it is said that it was a slogan spread by the chinese communist army to tell their people how Japanese army was ferocious.
三光作戦 was on my high school text book, but it was removed later. and the western media called that the japanese gov tried to whitewash the history.
The modern Japanese history has been a political tool for a long time, and even now.

>Claytonian
No Japanese conservative denies “There were sex slaves, raping, and pilaging.”
http://www.japanprobe.com James

Sima:

Are you claiming that Yasuji Kaneko was heavily influenced by communist propaganda to the point where he now lies about events he witnessed?

waho

Who wrote this article???

Mikechan

日本語で失礼します。
わかりやすく、黒人奴隷売買にたとえて言うならば、安倍首相の発言はこういうことになるでしょう。

「以前は、奴隷貿易というと白人の奴隷商人が、黒人を組織的に無差別かつ大規模に拉致したというふうに捉

えられてきたが、実際には、現地に黒人の奴隷商人が昔から存在し、彼らから奴隷を購入するという事例が一

般的であった事が明らかになった。しかし、被害者がその意志に反して奴隷とされたということは事実であるし、白

人社会がそのような犯罪行為に全体として関与していたということは明白であって、この点について反省しなけれ

ばならない。」

欧米社会においても、アフリカ大陸には黒人間の奴隷売買が存在したという歴史的事実を指摘するだけで

「revisionaist」といった批判を受ける事があるようですが、しかし「ホロコースト否定論者」と同一視されるようなこと

は一般的ではないのではないでしょうか？

安倍首相の歴史問題に対する反省は明らかに不誠実だと思います。
しかしそれを批判する場合にも公平かつ公正な立場は堅持されなければならないと思います。

helical

Translation:

Excuse me for posting in Japanese.
If we use an easy to understand example, we could say PM Abe’s statement is like this if it concerned African slaves.

“It used to be the consensus that white slave traders indiscriminately rounded up large numbers of black people in an organized fashion, but it has been revealed that in actuality, there were local black slave traders in existence for a long time, and it was common practice to purchase slaves from them. However, it is fact that the victims were made slaves against their will, and that the society of white people as a whole had a role in that criminal act, and we must repent it.”

In western society, it seems that merely pointing out that there were black slave traders on the African continent will earn criticizms of being “revisionist”, but isn’t it uncommon for them to be viewed to be on the same level as Holocaust Deniers?

I believe that PM Abe’s attitude toward historical issues is clearly insincere.
But to criticize that would require one to firmly maitain a fair and just standpoint for themselves.

http://bufanler.spaces.live.com Fan Zhang

Interesting view point, I never looked at it that way before.

Sima

>>James
Some people believe that he was brainwashed(洗脳）in China. But I don’t like to claim so because there is no way to confirm. China is still under the communist regime, no one knows what he was doing for 10 years in China.
At least a part of his testimony was false and the reliability of his testimony is low. Unfortunately there is no way to prove the rest of his claims are lies or not. If they are lies, there are no evidence because they are lies.
That is a reason that too much dependence on (verbal) testimony doesn’t help to understand what really happened in a confusing event. I think history is always vague.

wahoo

History is vague and it is mostly rewrotten by the winner.
This is very reason that the whole media are trying to make this comfort women not become one of vague history because this must not be repeated in the future by any country. If it is left a vague, then this may be repeated by other country. Who knows it may be done by Korean to Japanese? But what most people are afraid of is so far what Japanese have been showing is it would most likely Japanese who will repeat this crime again. In this situation, media may try to over-punish Japanese, which may make it felt unfair by Japanese but the rest of world will do it…
The best resolution in this situation is to take all possible public actions that can reflect sincere apology so that those comfort women are recongnised and appreciated in Japan and make a public record convincable to non-Japanese that Japan did a sincere apology. Then the world world will be quiet. If you think about this, this is not winnable battle by Japanese.
stannn

It seems to me you might also deny Nanking massacre with the same logic?

fan zhang

Sima,

“At least a part of his testimony was false”
Can you point out to us which part was false, you didn’t mention it in your comments, thanks.

“If they are lies, there are no evidence because they are lies.”
If they are not lies, then there are no evidences, so they are still lies? So, he is a liar no matter what?

“That is a reason that too much dependence on (verbal) testimony doesn’t help to understand what really happened in a confusing event. I think history is always vague.”
Verbal testimonies are NOT very reliable, so maybe it is time for Japanese government to declassify all the war-records, and clear the confusions. Japan CAN make history less vague, it is in her interest to do so.
http://bufanler.spaces.live.com fan zhang

Can anyone confirm the translation of first two minutes of this video for me? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ui0uv7E0-g

The translation I have is:“I think that we should execute any longer as a war crime now only of old soldiers who confess such a slaughter experience in Nanjing 1937. Because they are so aged, it is not possible to permit them. It is necessary to execute them.”

How accurate is this translation? Thanks

helical

Here’s my translation

“…saying all that stuff.

So in the case of the Nanking Issue, there are old men who come out and say that they’ve done things in the Naking Massacre. They say that they took out plainclothed soldiers to the river, strangled them, and they didn’t want to use guns or swords so they pushed them into the river and executed them, like 5 or 6 at a time. This is an execution of plainclothed soldiers so it is permissible. Why is that the Nanking Massacre? They also say that they went to the Chinese mainland, invaded civilian homes, took one outside, raped the daughter of that house, and say that this would not have happened if there wasn’t a war.
I say, what bullshit.
It is you who took advantage of the confusion and acted in a way to bring to shame to the Japanese people. Why do you blame it on the war? Even if there was a war, you don’t have to act that way. Nobody has to act that way. The vast majority of the people didn’t act that way. To shame Japan and the Japanese people in this way, is truly unbearable.
I’m repeating myself, but these geezers, we must, by the hands of the Japanese citizens, execute them. I don’t think and old age is an excuse. Don’t they think it is shameful?
I realize I am getting all excited, but I do think this way from an objective standpoint. What is with them, using war as a convenient excuse to carry out perverted and murdurous acts? And then, lying about what they’ve done and seen, claiming they charged in to Nanking and killed women and childern, claiming they killed women and children who couldn’t have really been there. Then I ask did you do it yourself? They’re all claiming things that couldn’t have really happened. Then I say to them to commit seppuku (take responsibilty yourself).
We must take these people who come out all smug, examine their accounts thoroughly, and then without a statute of limitations, prosecute them and execute them as men who shamed Japan…”

http://bufanler.spaces.live.com Fan Zhang

Thank you very much.

helical

No problem.

Also a minor correction:
“I don’t think and old age is an excuse.” should be “I don’t think old age is an excuse.”

wahoo

Wow, this is very very cruel writing… I am sure this is very minor voice… If it is a major voice, I would be so happy that I am not Japanese… it even makes me feel that Japan attacked Pear Habor without considering Japanese in Hawaii by saying who told you to live in Hawaii…The one who has to be executed for glory of Japan and who shamed Japan is the one who wrote this article…In fact, he is idot because if some naive citizen executed him, it will make a big news to the whole world and it is not helping Abe’s misery…A man is called a true failure when blaming someone else…

helical

I do think the man speaking in the video has a point though.
If there is a war and someone takes advantage of the situation to rape and pillage a town, comes back and confesses to it half a century later and, most important of all, blames it on someone else, wouldn’t you feel the person who did the act deseveres a significant part of the blame?

I could use an example of a soccer game.
If some hooligans go and break windows and spray paint their favorite team’s name on cars, streetsigns, mailboxes and your dog, gets away with it, and then comes back a couple years later and says I’m sorry but the people who arranged the soccer match are to blame since they made him all excited, I’m not so sure a lot of people would buy his story. Maybe there actually were not enough cops around and the organizers forgot to provide enough concession stands or restrooms, making people frustrated. Even so, there would be bound to be commentary saying the hooligan puts all soccer fans to shame and should be tried and put in jail or fined heavily by the hands of righteous, law-abiding soccer fans.

You said so yourself, a man is called a true failure when blaming someone else. The speaker in this video is saying the person who confessed to doing all the evil acts is blaming someone else.
Of course there are probably other issues like poor supervision and/or poor supply lines which may have allowed/forced soldiers to commit these crimes. But even so, it doesn’t make the actual perpetrator innocent.

wahoo

I guess I maight not use my logic correctly. My understanding is the guy on video blames actual soilders themselves in order to protect the dignity of Japan…the whole world already know what Japan did in WWII. If this was the only bad thing Japanese ever did during the entire WWII, I wouldn’t have used my harsh expression above my comment…

This type of Video is not helping young generation of Japanese. The image of Japan to me is unfortunately a country knows only itself. Japan should play much bigger role compared to its economic power but Japan has very small mind set and don’t know how to think building a real relationship with other countries. Why Japan doesn’t have a signle repect from any other Asian countries ? In that sense, Korea has lots of repect from other Asian countries. One universial rule is “you have to earn respect and you can not force or but it” Denying historic mistake and wrong doing of the past will make Japan even an isolated country. The image of Japan will be damaged a lot even though the dignity of Japan may be kept to only Japanese younger generation, who may wonder some day why other Asian country don’t repsect us???

I hope Japan earn its respect so to play a big role as a big country.

China will be a big country with lots of respect.

http://www.occidentalism.org Korean pride

Actually, as a Korean, if the comfort women get compensated, that’s good, but it means nothing if we don’t have a chance at making Japan look bad or bringing the present generation down to suffer! It would be better if we Koreans could kill and rape all Japanese women and children. As a Korean, fixing the problem is not our objective and really would’t satisfy us. What satisfies us the most is getting revenge and making Japan look bad until we surpass them economically! Only then will us Koreans finally be happy..once we get revenge! This is the true nature of our Korean soul. We thrive on the hatred of others to whom we feel jealousy and envy. If you take that away from us, then we will have really boring lives. ACtually, if Japan were to disappear, we Koreans would probably want Japan back because we need something to hate because our culture thrives on it. We really cannot understand the concept of being happy or content with ourselves just the way we are. We always need to compare ourselves with others and make sure we are better than everyone else. That is the true nature of our beatiful country.

wahoo

I guess you are Korean version of monkey from Mars…Your whole statement sounds you are just a mad person…You may be educated with some lie as well…If Japan disappear, the whole world will have a problem… my immediate and biggest problem would be no athentic Sushi, I would give a shit about comfort women…
bartunek

Well, speechless..
Regardless of your nationality,,obviously you are not a korean.
shame on you!
I feel shameful to live on the same planet with you, scumbag, racist.

wahoo

Korean pride has too much pride to be patriot for his country Korea. His comment shows most Koreans are racists, and I hope that’s not the case. He ruins the image of Korean. Korea should be very proud of what they did after Korea War. At this moment, I am sure more countries repect Korea than Japan because the modern S. Korea achieved a miracle itself if anyone knows what happened during Korean War. However, Japan is the luckiest country in modern history. And there is a big difference between miracle and luck.

One sad reality is that by shutting up his mouth forever, the “Korean Pride” guy can become a true patriot for his country to be prosperous in the world.
However, if Korean want to be proud only within Korea, regardless what the rest of world think, you need many of guys like Korean Pride.

I am sure his comment can make another hot topic in you.tube or Japness news paper. And another similar Japanese guy will make another hot topic in Korean news paper. In that matter, nobody will admit shit and no apology in next 1000 years.

It is very sad that I was told Korean and Japanese are in fact the same people.
In fact, they look alike and different from Chinese ro Vietnamese. And the language grammar is very similar…And maybe, that’s the reason they hate each other so much.

http://bufanler.spaces.live.com Fan Zhang

Anymore details on this news?

“TOKYO (Reuters) On Sunday, Abe repeated that the 1993 apology remained in effect. “We have stated our heartfelt apologies to the ‘comfort women’ at the time who suffered greatly and were injured in their hearts,” Abe said in an interview with NHK television. “I want to say that that sentiment has not changed at all.”"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070311/wl_nm/japan_sexslave_dc_1
langslave

Aside from the various politicians spouting whatever they think will win votes, I think what is required is for the average person in Japan to recognise their previous role as aggressor. Mostly what I hear are sob stories about “poor Japan” being attacked and bombed, but no recognition as to WHY that happened. The Allies in WWII did NOT initiate attacks on Japan. Some historians feel the use of September 1939 as the staring date for WWII is too Euro-centric and should in fact be back-dated to Japans occupation of (at least) mainland China.
I recently had a student try to claim that China attacked Japan! When I pressed him for details and dates he was unable to explain why Japanese troops were in China, or in what way that constituted an attack BY China. He finished the “discussion” by saying I had mis-understood him.
Some time ago I read a comment by an Asian writer who asked “Why do Europeans and Americans always want to drag up the past? Why not just forget it?”. My answer is an old quotation “Those who forget their own history…are condemned to re-live it.”
moji

日本語で失礼。
この人は731部隊と南京虐殺と朝鮮人強制連行のすべてに参加したと称している有名な謝罪屋さんです。軍歴から考えて信頼性がゼロであることは既に認定されている人です。日本ではもう左翼メディアも含めてこの人は誰にも相手にされていません。英語メディアは無批判に動員しているようですが、足下すくわれますよ。

Abe Has Been Voicing Doubts; Former Japanese Soldier Confirms Sexual Slavery

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