Overview from the American Media: WWII Sex Slaves

I’ll let the video speak for itself.

21 comments - What do you think? Posted by Claytonian - August 3, 2007 at 7:19 am

Categories: Anti-Japan, Politics Tags:

http://japan.shadowofiris.com Matt Dioguardi

There are actually scholars out there who have an even handed view of what happened.

Yuki Tanaka is one of them. He is Japanese, but fluent enough in English to actually write and publish a well received book on the subject.

If he’d been interviewed for this program, he would have probably explained the complexities involved in the issue, the American involvement, and so on and so forth.

This would have been hard to follow, and unsettling for those who did try to follow it.

Instead we get opposing and extreme views, far easier to understand and more entertaining.

Truth is not something people have time for. By the way, did any one hear what happened to Paris Hilton last week?

Claytonian

I agree this seemed a bit myopic.
Okay, please feel free to explain some of the complexities. What was the American involvement you are talking about?

http://www.japanprobe.com James

By American involvement, he means America’s postwar involvement in a similar system of military prostitution in Japan. One can also compare the South Korean government’s work to make prostitutes available for US troops as something similar to the comfort women system.

Haroon Piracha

Thats a really ignorant statement. There is a big difference between prostitutes and sex slave. There is a big big difference. Being force to do it … Why would such an old person lie about it…

Even if American soldiers were involved with such conduct, it doesn’t excuse the Japanese. ‘If the US did it why can’t we?’ Thats a horrible way to think of it.

Honestly though, Doesn’t America have something more important they should be doing with their tax dollars? *rolls eyes*

I think I am more mad knowing whats going on in Iraq, than what happened so so long ago.

ponta

Japanese troop let the local agent recruit the women. In the process, deception took place against the policy. . and in some cases, coecsion took place. The women worked against their will. Japanese soldeir frequented the brothels.
Japan apologized several times.

American troop let the local agent recruit the women in Vietnam, in Korea, in Japan. (In case of Korea, Korean troop emulated Japanese system.)
In the process, deception took place, and in some cases coercion took place. The women worked against their will. GIs frequented the brothels.

Let’s work for these forgotten comfort women who haven’t receive from the
relevant countries.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

Haroon Piracha:

“Thats a really ignorant statement. There is a big difference between prostitutes and sex slave. There is a big big difference.”

It’s really ignorant for you to assume that all the women in brothels servicing the American army were not forced or pressured into their situation against their will. One could argue that a good number of such women were “sex slaves.”

Even today women across the world are being forced into prostitution. Human trafficking is a major problem in Asia. I’d like to see governments try to resolve current issues that are effecting women than spend their time arguing about who needs to issue new apologies for things that happened 60+ years ago.

“Even if American soldiers were involved with such conduct, it doesn’t excuse the Japanese. ‘If the US did it why can’t we?’ Thats a horrible way to think of it.”

I didn’t say that the fact that Americans participated in a similar system somehow makes both systems OK.

“Honestly though, Doesn’t America have something more important they should be doing with their tax dollars? *rolls eyes*

I think I am more mad knowing whats going on in Iraq, than what happened so so long ago. ”

I agree with you on that.
Jim

Besides from what other sides make out of that story, the wish of these women to receive remuneration and prevent Japan from whitewashing its past are very decent claims, arent they? Theres no need for apologetic “but america did” red herrings.
ponta

It is not red-herring at all. It was wrong Japan exploited the women. Japan apologized several times.
The wishes of the forgotten comfort women in Korea after wwⅡ　exploited by Koreans and GIs to receive and prevent the U.S. and Korea whitewashing its past are very decent claims, aren’t they? There is no need for apologetic, “but “Japan should apologize more ” is red herring.
Jim

I see, everything is just a big conspiracy against Japan.
ponta

Not really, is everything just a big cospiracy against the U.S. and Korea?
–maybe?
Bryce

Not so much a conspiracy, Jim, as a failure by shows like this to conduct any research. Take the claim, for example, that “historians say” that 300000 people died at Nanjing. Most respectable western and Japanese historians claim the figure was closer to 100000. Chinese historians (and that hack, Iris Chang) claim the former figure, but their calculations are quite dodgy. As for the comfort women, no mention in this video of the 1993 apology by Kono Yohei, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, nor the fact that every Japanese administration during that time has stuck to that apology and even assisted the establishment of a compensation fund for victims. Instead we get a lot of waffle about “the samurai spirit” of the Japanese, as though “those Japanese are just so inscrutable”.

Steve

This was powerful video on a sensitive issue. Thanks, James.
Steve

Opps! Meant, Claytonian, so used to seeing James’ avatar up.
http://japan.shadowofiris.com Matt Dioguardi

Claytonian,

There is a lot of stuff up at my blog already. I really want to blog some more but haven’t had a chance. As soon as possible, I will.

If you’re interested in the issue a great place to start, is with the a long, fairly detailed document, that can be downloaded form the Asian Women’s Funds site:

http://www.awf.or.jp/woman/pdf/ianhu_ei.pdf
http://
Ukhti

I first heard of this book, “The Comfort Women”, when I lived in Honolulu, Hawaii. I still want a copy of it, so as to truly educate myself on this most disturbing piece of Japanese history.
hoihoi

that movie was faked

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ik72OMYxmE

boogie

What movie?

Even if it was faked, it does not mean that the Japanese did not have comfort women.

My grandmother went through that period and she told me about it. I see no point in her lying about something like this. She does not hate the Japanese who are ignorant of this but she doesn’t like the way the learned Japanese leaders are treating this issue. When you make a mistake, you’ll say sorry and you’ll remember it so that you will not do it again.

As a country, this should apply too.

She is not asking for Japan’s numerous apologies, she is asking for the acts to be acknowledged in the history books that’s all.

EK

The Japanese today are growing up believing, as they were taught, that Japan actually did Korea a favor with their gracious extended stay and humanitarian mission to bring culture and technology to the barbarians during 1910-1945. This is sort of how it’s presented and packaged, for their national pride, honor, and image.

Even though it’s the same teachings as the previous couple generations, it is profoundly much more important today because that generation who actually experienced and witnessed this horror(on both sides), have passed, or soon will. There will be no more survivors. Japan and Korea will then find themselves as they’ve always found themselves – in full contempt of each other. One accusing the other of being a liar. Ironically, those who are still living today are still being dismissed and invalidated, as they’ve always been. How utterly sad. We are witnessing the inevitable, predictable future unfold right before our eyes, which the next many generations will inherit.

If Japanese believe this is all lies and impossible, then it is only logical that they must assume that collectively, Korean women are therefore whores by nature who ambitiously and voluntarily gave themselves to the Japanese soldiers for monetary gain. How else can this be summarized and explained? It IS acknowledged that thousands upon thousands of Korean women were in sexual servitude to the Japanese…correct?

On the other hand, if they want to believe that this was not the case, and that Korean women were NOT in sexual servitude, then it must be assumed then…that Korean women are therefore an incredible species of liars. Either way, it’s grounds for absolute lack of respect for Koreans…wouldn’t you say?

Hey…let Koreans and Japanese fight for eternity!
ashley

After watching the video I was pretty disguested with the fact that Japan would try to deny the things they did in the past. Not much can be done for the “comfort women” now considering the fact that the people that harmed them are probably all dead. They deserve an apology and for people to acknowledge what happened to them.

I would not doubt in the least bit that American soliders also had sex slaves. Back then, women were hardly treated as human beings.

At first, I kind of lost some respect for Japan because they are denying some of horrors they committed during World War II, but then I thought about it. In some ways I believe the United States has done so too. Not denying the past horrors, but more skipping over it. In every grade for as far back as I remember I’ve learned about WWII in numberous schools and the atomic bombings of Japan was always more or less ignored. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese were killed. I didn’t even know there were two bombs until I did my own research. Everytime I learned about the war, they would always go into such detail about all the lifes lost at Pearl Harbor, but when it comes time for the US to bomb Japan, it just says “we created the first atomic bomb and dropped it in Japan and we won”. Case close.

No country wants to teach it’s citizens about the negative things that have occured.
concerned Filipino

It’s amazing how some in the Japanese government and their loyal supporters are still in denial about something that’s already been conclusively proved to have happened. Do they think they’re fooling anyone? Their actions demean the world’s intelligence.
Ponpon

This is simply American and China’s propaganda.
If there is such a large scale of rape, there should be a thousands of Half Japanese children. Like in Vietnam, Korean soldiers raped local women, and there left about 8000 korean-Vietnamese orphan children. Soviet union did the same thing and, there were lot of orphan children from raping after their invasion.

However, there is no such record for half Japanese kids.

Overview from the American Media: WWII Sex Slaves

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