Japanese and Koreans: we fought together in the war

I received the following comment on the previous posting "Japanese war crimes: I'm sorry? by Adrian Salbuchi" (thanks a lot for commenting). I felt that it was again somehow based on the common misunderstanding on "what Japan did to Korea", to which I wanted to clarify a few issues in response. I of course cannot comment anything on individual experiences, but would like to describe the overall picture.

Comment received: 

"To rest of the world, those in shrine are war criminals because Japan lost the World War II. But to many Koreans, they are war criminals because they killed their own grand parents, destroyed life of many and tried to deny existence of Koreans by destroying their cultural and historical elements. Talk to any Koreans if you know any. Ask them if they think they have won World War II against Japan. I can assure you none of them will say yes. To Koreans, it is not about whether they have won the war or not. I have Korean grandmother who passed away last year at age 98. I remember hearing from her about what Japanese did to Koreans. To many Koreans, what Abe Shinzo did is equivalent of Angela Merkel putting flowers in Adolf Hitler's grave. Regardless of how many times the apologies were given in the past, it's going to hurt many Koreans and the reaction of Koreans are only natural."

Japanese and Koreans fought together against the allies in the WWII, because Korea had been annexed by Japan since 1910 and Koreans were treated as Japanese. Unlike the West who only exploited people and resources in their colonies, Japan developed Korea and improved the welfare of people dramatically. These advancements occurred in all spheres including education, health, economy, safety, judicial system, infrastructure and local administration, benefits of which were enjoyed by Koreans both in urban and rural areas. Keijo (Seoul) became more modern than Tokyo, which itself is an incredible fact. Up to the annexation, due to the misrule of the Yi Dynasty, general people in Korea were extremely poor, subject to exploitation and mistreatment in the authoritarian system, with no proper basic services. This is clearly documented by a British scholar Alleyne Ireland, the then authority on colonial administration, who analyzed the Japanese administration in Korea and published “The New Korea” in 1926 after 3 years of field research (available at Amazon.co.jp).

You mention that Japanese destroyed Korean culture, but it was the Yi Dynasty who destroyed the good of Korea and made Korean people suffer. Alleyne writes as follows:

“I met many Japanese who were eager to enlarge upon the admirable features of the early Korean culture and to express their appreciation of the contribution which Koreans had made to the art, religion, and philosophy of Japan itself, in the centuries preceding the accession of the Yi Dynasty, which after more than five hundred years of misrule had reduced the Korean people to a cultural and economic condition deplorable in the extreme, and which came to an end when Japan annexed the country in 1910” (p.72-73).

You should also know that Koreans wanted to fight together with Japanese against the allies during the WWII. Some Koreans played active part in the Japanese army as senior military officers, such as 洪思翊, 金錫源, and 朴正熙 (Park Chung-hee, subsequent President of Korea and the father of the current Korean President Park Geun-hye 朴槿惠). Stimulated by their bravery and success, over 300,000 young Koreans voluntarily responded to the call for voluntary services with the Japanese army in 1943, which only had 6,300 seats. Several hundreds of them wrote their plea in their blood, which surprised the Government-General of Japan in Seoul. This fact proves that Japanese administration in Korea was going extremely well and it gained trust of Koreans. Korean soldiers who fought along with the Japanese army totaled 240,000, out of which 21,000 died on the battleground and are enshrined at Yasukuni. Japanese soldiers who died in the WWII were 2,300,000 in total.

Unfortunately, none of these facts are taught in Korea due to extreme anti-Japanese education that it has been promoting for the past decades. This only creates hatred among Koreans, makes them blind, depriving them of facing their own history. Koreans should realize that Japanese Prime Minister visiting  Yasukuni has nothing to hurt their feelings. Japanese and Koreans stood up and fought together to defend the united countries from the dominant White supremacy back then. It was a difficult choice for Korea, but all things considered, the annexation played a critical role in the history of Korea and its people for better.

"Japanese war crimes: I'm sorry?" by Adrian Salbuchi

The following is an article by Adrian Salbuchi, a political analyst, author, speaker and radio / TV commentator in Argentina (click here for the link on RT), which is very well written and I'd just like to paste the whole thing below:

Japanese war crimes: I’m sorry?

Adrian Salbuchi is a political analyst, author, speaker and radio/TV commentator in Argentina.

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Published time: December 27, 2013 12:24

: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo on December 26, 2013, in a move Beijing condemned as "absolutely unacceptable". (AFP Photo/Toru Yamanaka)

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China and South Korea are very angry with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe because he visited the Yosukuni Shrine in Tokyo honoring some 2.5 million Japanese – both military and civilian – who died in war.

Many are irate with Mr Abe because, amongst those honored in the 19th Century Yosukuni Shrine, are Japanese World War II heroes, branded as “war criminals” by US occupation forces. The list numbers fourteen “Class-A criminals” involved in “planning the war”, including war-time leader General Hideki Tojo executed by the US in 1948. 

Official history

Sad but true: when a country wins a war, not only does it automatically acquire full territorial rights over the vanquished nation, but also full and arbitrary control over cities, land, population, resources, plants, patents, military gear, international rights, etc.

It also acquires the “right” to (re)write the history of the conflict that led them to war in the first place. It acquires the right to impose its own views and reasons as “the truth”, accusing the vanquished country of being “false, evil, wrong, criminal, ambitious,” etc.

It’s as old as mankind: “we’re the good guys; the others are the bad guys.” “Our boys are heroes; the others are devils that deserve to be killed, right down to the last 2-year old toddler.” As 70 years of post-World War Two propaganda has clearly shown, the 20th and 21st centuries are no different.

Japan sticks to its guns

Yes, and they should be admired for that. Compare this to ever self-effacing Germany asking for the world’s forgiveness again and again and again, even though she knows quite well that no matter how many apologies are made, those who run today’s world call the shots in the media, publishing houses and education, will never ever forgive Germany.

Rather than commit historical hara-kiri as the Germans do, Japan prefers to keep a stiff upper lip, stand tall and continue to bear the consequences of military defeat, without descending into moral defeat.

Sure, the Allied Victor’s International Military Tribunal for the East – a Nuremberg-like court aka the“Tokyo Trials” – branded many of Japan’s top military and political leaders “Class A” criminals. However, as far back as in October 2006, Mr Abe’s ideas were voiced in The Japan Times: “[The] 14 Class-A war criminals honored at Yasukuni Shrine are not war criminals under Japanese law, but the country had to accept the outcome of the Tokyo Tribunal to become an independent nation. Abe told the Lower House that because the relatives of the convicted men receive war pensions and one of them - wartime Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu - received a first class award from the post-war government, "they are not war criminals under domestic laws." The International Military Tribunal, which the Allies conducted between May 1946 and November 1948, put 28 political and military leaders on trial as Class-A war criminals, 14 of whom are now enshrined in Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine. Abe said they stood trial for crimes against peace and humanity, which were concepts, created by the allies after the war and not enshrined in law.”

Bravo, Japan! If we sincerely wish to punish the war crimes committed by all countries – winners and losers - then we would need a heck of a large International Military and Political Tribunal, free of double-standards and censorship.
Double standards (again!)

Talk about “war crimes” what are we to make, for example, of Britain’s World War II Royal Air Force Commander Arthur Harris (aka, “Bomber Harris” and “Butcher Harris”) who invented and imposed “area bombing” over precision bombing, euphemistically calling it “strategic bombing”; which was just another way of saying, if “it moves on enemy territory just bomb it out of existence!”

Bomber Harris was very successful in unleashing fire storms over Hamburg, Germany in July 1943 (“Operation Gomorrah”) that were later repeated over all major German cites. In Harris’s own words,“the aim of the Combined Bomber Offensive...should be unambiguously stated [as] the destruction of German cities, the killing of German workers, and the disruption of civilized life throughout Germany. ... the destruction of houses, public utilities, transport and lives, the creation of a refugee problem on an unprecedented scale, and the breakdown of morale both at home and at the battle fronts by fear of extended and intensified bombing, are accepted and intended aims of our bombing policy. They are not by-products of attempts to hit factories.”

Wow! Was Bomber Harris ever tried and executed for his crimes?

Not quite. Instead, in 1992 Britain’s Queen Mother personally unveiled a statue honoring him outside St. Clement Danes’ Church in London, whilst many protesters jeered shouting: "Harris was a war criminal!”

South Korean conservative activists burn placards during a protest to lodge a complaint against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting the Yasukuni war shrine to mark the first anniversary of his taking office, in Seoul on December 27, 2013. (AFP Photo/Woohae Cho)

The historical truth is that hundreds of thousands of German men, women and children – civilian and military – died or were maimed for life thanks to Bomber Harris’s creative thinking.

And what about “democratic” politicians like US Franklin Roosevelt, Britain’s Winston Churchill and their military leaders who joined forces to destroy the German open city of Dresden in February 1945, when Germany’s defeat was only weeks away and that city had become a meeting point for hundreds of thousands of civilian refugees fleeing the fast-advancing Red Army?

On 13th February 1945, the UK sent a first wave of 244 RAF four-engine Lancaster heavy bombers, followed by a second wave of 529 bombers. The next day, the US dispatched over 300 B17 bombers over Dresden. An estimated 300,000 people – mostly civilians including tens of thousands of children – burned to death.

I know, I know… The US and UK had no choice but to murder millions in Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Hannover, Frankfurt, Cologne, Ulm, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was the only way to end that ghastly war. They did it all in the name of “peace”, right? So, Germans and Japanese: don’t complain and say “Thank you” to the allies.

Interestingly, the destruction of Dresden began 24 hours after Roosevelt and Churchill ended their meeting with Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, in Yalta, where the coming post-war New World Order was beginning to be mapped out. Might the destruction of Dresden have been on the agenda?

OK. But that was back during World War Two.

South Korean conservative activists shout slogans during a protest to lodge a complaint against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting the Yasukuni war shrine to mark the first anniversary of his taking office, in Seoul on December 27, 2013. (AFP Photo/Woohae Cho)

Then what about the 1.5 million dead in Iraq since March 2003, after that martyred country was invaded, raped and destroyed by modern history’s worst liars: Baby Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, Condoleeza Rice and their nice friends at the Project for a New American Century think-tank and AIPAC lobby, all based on the most blatant and obscene political lie ever told: “weapons of mass destruction” that were never there.

And what about, the complacent blood-thirsty “NATO Allies” with the UK’s poodle prime minister –“Tony BLIAR” as many call him in his own country – tagging along?

And what about the daily murder, humiliation, maiming and house demolitions by the “good” Israelis against the “bad” Palestinians? What, no “International Tribunals”?

The West’s logic is really very simple. So simple, that even George W. Bush and Barack Obama can act out their roles as required by the global power masters.

A guide to war for the modern political Tarzan

For the benefit of millions of Western readers, I’d like to briefly flesh out in “basic Tarzan” how this“logic” works in practice; just to make sure they don’t miss the point: when it comes to “good guys” and“bad guys”, it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

This does not mean that Japan should not be more political and understand the bigger picture of its own interest in closing ranks with China and the region as was mentioned in a recent RT article.

Let’s face it, this is a sensitive issue. The Koreans said PM Abe’s visit to the shrine was a "deplorable" act; Beijing labeled the visit "absolutely unacceptable" and summoned Japan's ambassador. These two countries see the Yasukuni Shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism during and before World War Two, and it was they who suffered the full impact of the Japanese onslaught.

Shinzo Abe said, "It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people,"claiming his visit was an anti-war gesture. He convinced nobody.

He did, however, make it clear that his visit was in a private capacity, not representing the government. He believes the trials that convicted Japan's wartime leaders were "victors' justice". His own grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, served in the war cabinet and was arrested by the Americans on suspicion of being a Class-A war criminal, although he was later released without charge. Mr Abe is known to be a nationalist and a historical revisionist.

Which ‘history’: Yours or mine?

Revisionism: perhaps here lies the key to a better understanding amongst nations, if we can begin doing away with victors’ “official history” that hides, waters-down, justifies, explains and forgives its own horrendous crimes, whilst at the same time it underlines, over-emphasizes and demonizes the actions of its vanquished enemies. And it often adds two, or maybe even three zeroes here and there as part of its historical genocide cosmetic kit.

There’s certainly irrationality to it all when you consider that this state of affairs assumes as given, that every time there’s war, the good guys (us) always win, whilst the bad guys (them) always lose (otherwise “they” would be in charge, right?): whether it’s World War I, World War 2, Vietnam, Korea, the Middle East, Africa, Central Europe, Latin America…

South Korean conservative activists set fire to effigies of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a protest to lodge a complaint against Abe visiting the Yasukuni war shrine to mark the first anniversary of his taking office, in Seoul on December 27, 2013. (AFP Photo/Woohae Cho)

A concept almost impossible to sustain and swallow, especially since it’s obvious that all wars are won by the more powerful party in the conflict, which are those nations having the greatest fire-power to kill, maim, destroy, blow-up, murder, terrorize, bomb, shoot, torture, and have the will to do it without wavering.

If wars are won by the stronger, more violent side, where does that leave the victors morally? Do they win every war because they “love peace”? I don’t think so.

In addition, demonizing the enemy also serves to sooth one’s own conscious, dark fears and guilt. In order for the citizens of the US, UK or France to sleep tight at night, better for them not to grasp the horror their governments and military have unleashed upon millions of Iraqis, Libyans, Syrians, Palestinians, Koreans, Vietnamese, Latin Americans, Africans, Afghanis, Serbians, Pakistanis over the decades.

It’s so much easier to just say, “Oh, they’re all a bunch of Hitlers. The whole defeated lot got what they deserved: Saddam, Gadhafi, the Taliban, Chavez, Milosevic, Ho Chi Minh, Nasser, Peron etc…”

Now do you see why in some countries – Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, Canada – it’s even illegal to dare to utter revisionist views of certain historical events? They call such revisionism “hate literature”.

In my own native land of Argentina, back in 1982 a very good documentary was produced on the life and times of Evita Perón and her violently-ousted husband, President Juan Domingo Perón. He was the only true statesman that ever came to power in modern Argentina.

The lyrics of that film’s theme song repeated the following phrase (sorry, it rhymes in Spanish though not in English): “If history is written by those who win wars, that means that there’s another history – TRUE HISTORY – Let those who wish to hear, listen-up…”

Adrian Salbuchi is a political analyst, author, speaker and radio/TV commentator in Argentina.www.asalbuchi.com.ar

PM Abe's much longed-for visit to Yasukuni

PM Abe Shinzo visiting Yasukuni Shrine (Sankei)

Prime Minister Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine on December 26th, the one-year anniversary of his administration. It's been over 7 years since Prime Minister Koizumi visited the shrine as the head of the state. The visit has been much longed for by many Japanese, and by PM Abe himself, as it symbolizes that Japan is coming back to true self.

Sankei writes well on the issue and I will translate parts of its articles below. Many overseas media and leftist media of Japan only write about conventional, biased view on the topic, and I'd like to warn the readers. Sankei unfortunately does not have English version, and I will try to translate some articles once in a while.

PM Abe, during his first administration in 2007, failed to visit Yasukuni Shrine, for which he's been "extremely deeply regretted". After worshiping, PM Abe told the press, "I reported the progress of my administration in the past year, and swore to create the era when people would never suffer from the horrors of war. I chose this day to convey my determination".  PM Abe emphasized the meaning of the visit, saying "it is the attitude common to the leaders around the world to pray for the repose of the souls of those who fought on the battlegrounds (Eirei)". Furthermore, PM Abe added that "I have no intention at all to hurt the feeling of Chinese and Korean people. I would like to directly explain to the heads of these two countries". PM Abe visited the inner shrine, signed "Prime Minister Abe Shinzo" and offered white chrysanthemum. He also visited Chinrei-sha within Yasukuni Shrine premises, where all the war dead around the world are enshrined. PM Abe then presented the statement "Pledge for Everlasting Peace", and translated it into English and spread the message to the world.

The U.S. Embassy in Japan made a statement that the U.S. was disappointed that the leader of Japan acted in a way to worsen the tension with the neighboring countries. Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio discussed the issue with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy over the phone, explained the purpose of the visit and requested for understanding. Ms. Kennedy responded that she would convey the message back home. In the LDP internet programme, PM Abe said that "in recent years, misunderstanding has increased in the U.S. Taking the opportunity, I would like to explain well to clarify the misunderstanding".

What is Yasukuni Shrine?

It was built in Meiji 2 (1869) to pray for the repose of the souls of the soldiers who died in Boshin war (a civil war fought from 1868-1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court). The Meiji Emperor named the Shrine Yasukuni (靖国), which means to "make the country peaceful" (国を靖んずる). Not only the war dead from the Greater East Asia War (WWII), but also from the Japanese-Sino War, Japanese-Russo War, and the patriots from the end of Edo era are enshrined, totaling 2,466,000. Chinrei-sha was built in 1965 in the same premises to enshrine the Japanese war dead not enshrined in the inner shrine and the foreign war dead.

"Yasukuni Visit is a clear statement to wish for peace", Professor Kevin Doak, Georgetown University

Professor Kevin Doak, the head of the Department of East Asian Language and Cultures of Georgetown University, Washington DC, was interviewed by Sankei:

Visit to Yasukuni is purely a domestic issue of Japan which should be decided by Japanese citizens and the diet members including PM Abe who have been selected democratically by the citizens.

I don't understand why China and Korea poke their nose into this domestic affair. PM Abe's visit to Yasukuni is neither signaling the intention of starting a war nor serving the former Japanese army. PM Abe wants to pray for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives for the nation and its people. Do the leaders of China and Korea not wish to pray for the souls of their citizens in the same way?

Yasukuni Shrine also enshrines the war dead from the Boshin war. This is similar to Arlington National Cemetery (Virginia state) which enshrines the war dead from the American Civil War.

What is the most impressive about PM Abe's visit to Yasukuni is that he visited not only the inner shrine but also Chinrei-sha. I would like non-Japanese people to understand the meeting of his visit to Chinrei-sha.

The important is that Chinrei-sha enshrines the war dead from around the world. This includes the Americans and Chinese who fought against the former Japanese army during the WWII. PM Abe's visit to Chinrei-sha clearly shows that he has sincere intention to wish for peace.

The visit to Chinrei-sha also shows that PM Abe wants to lead its citizens from nationalism to people-ism that values citizens.

I wish that there will be no negative effect on the Japan-U.S. relations. The statement of "disappointment" expressed by the U.S. government was most likely an attempt to avoid offending the feelings of China and Korea.

(Sources: Sankei Shimbun, December 27 and 28, 2013)

********************
It's only normal for Japanese Prime Minister and the officials, as well as Japanese citizens, to visit Yasukuni Shrine and pay respect for Eirei, without whose incredible courage, dedication and love, Japan would have not been how it is now.

Moreover, the categorization of "class A / B war criminals", etc, was decided in the Tokyo Tribunal, which was highly unfair and flawed in terms of the rationale, procedure and judgment. After 68 years from the end of the war, those who still take comfort in the Tokyo Tribunal view should wake up and see how the world really was back then.

What is Kono Statement?

I need to write about Kono Statement, because this is THE cause of global misunderstanding on the comfort women issue. 

Ms. Sakurai Yoshiko, the journalist and the founder of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, explains well in her book “Japan, Brush up your Historical Knowledge” （日本よ、歴史力を磨け）, pp. 12-37:

*********

Kono Statement, made by the then Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono Yohei in 1993, acknowledged that the Japanese military “forced” women into prostitution, in response to the Korean government’s request for doing so.

Miyazawa Cabinet at the time researched over 200 official documents, internal and external, yet found not even one document that indicated the “coercion” of comfort women by the Japanese government. Nevertheless, based only on the interviews with some Korean comfort women, Kono acknowledged “coercion” and stated publicly that the Japanese government “coerced” women into prostitution.  

Kono Statement says the following:

“… The Government study has revealed that in many cases they were recruited against their own will, through coaxing, coercion, etc, and that, at times, administrative / military personnel directly took part in the recruitments…”

After issuing the statement, Kono was questioned by journalists at the press conference:

Journalist: “Do you mean that there were facts of coercing women into prostitution?”

Kono: “There were facts – this understanding is ok.”

Journalist: “I understand that there was no official document found, and thus interviews with Korean comfort women were conducted. Wasn’t there any objective evidence found?”

Kono: “Coercion can be physical, or mental. Mental coercion cannot be recorded on the official documents… In either case, it is clear that there were many cases that happened against the women’s will.”

In short, there was no objective evidence.

Then why did Kono issue such false statement to acknowledge the coercion by the government / military, disgracing Japan beyond words?

The then Deputy Cabinet Secretary Ishihara Nobuo confessed later as follows (“The Cost of the Secret Deal: Why the Comfort Women Issue got Complicated“, in Bungei Shunjyu, April, 1997. 文芸春秋、97年4月号、「密約外交の大小―慰安婦問題はなぜこじれたか」):

In view of the political situations at that time, the Korean Government had been strongly requesting the Japanese Government to acknowledge “coercion” to respect the “honor” of the comfort women. The Korean Government selected 16 comfort women, and requested the Japanese Government to listen to their testimonies. The Japanese Government listened to the testimonies; however, the testimonies did not prove the direct coercion by the Japanese military, nor did they have objective rationality. The Japanese Government was not convinced of the “coercion”, yet the atmosphere became such that the government had no choice but to “politically” admit “coercion”. At the same time, the Japanese Government implicitly understood that, as long as the Japanese Government acknowledged “coercion”, the Korean Government would never ever bring up the issue of Comfort Women, and would not request economic compensation.

However, such “implicit understanding” is not documented.

Thus, without fairly analyzing the comfort women’s “testimonies”, the Japanese Government acknowledged “coercion”, in wishful thinking that the matter would settle if it compromised. As a consequence, the Kono Statement is now regarded as the “evidence” of the “coercion”. 14 years later, Kono Statement was used as the evidence for the Resolution on the Comfort Women at the US Congress. The fabrication has led to another fabrication, spreading more fabrications around the world.

*******************

Indeed, the first Abe Cabinet in 1997 approved that “Among the documents that the government discovered, there was no document that directly indicated the coercion (of comfort women) by the military or the government”.

The second Abe Cabinet, under the Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide, indicates that they would re-examine Kono Statement through the well-informed panel.

Kono Statement is thus a groundless statement made by an irresponsible government official who is ignorant of the historical facts. It is absurd that the Japanese Government has held it as an official view until now. This is mainly because: 1) many government officials lack sufficient historical knowledge to counter fabrications, 2) large number of leftist Japanese intellectuals and media (like Asahi), who are anti-Japan and pro-Korea/China, with masochistic historical view, strongly support and disseminate fabrications, and 3) Korea, supported by 2), make this a sensitive political issue.

First and foremost, Japanese people must wake up to the facts that Japanese government / military never forced women into prostitution during WWII. Then, Japanese should speak up and stop the bloated lie of “200,000 sexual slavery by the Japanese army” that anti-Japan Japanese and Koreans spread so willingly.

It is only then, Japan will be able to restore itself, and make things better. True peace cannot be built on lies.

Responding to the comfort women supporter - US Army Report No.49 and Professor Yoshimi

I've got the first comment from a comfort woman supporter on my blog posting on Texas Daddy video (US Army Report No.49), which was nice because I could learn further and analyze, but as I started to write my response, it got longer and longer... So I've decided to put it as a new posting. I'm still half way or less in my response, but I will put partly here.

First, part of the comment from the supporter:

"What you have here is one document about comfort women in one specific part of the Japanese empire at the time. It does not in any way represent the experiences of all of Japan's comfort women during WWII. 

In fact, it says in this document that "[These 20 comfort women in Burma] lived in near-luxury in Burma in comparison to other places." Meaning that in other places in the Japanese empire, comfort women fared a lot worse. (This document also says that these Korean comfort women were recruited by means of deception and that they did not like their "work".)

In fact, three-quarters of comfort women died during the war. They died due to harsh conditions and (mis)treatment, rampant sexually transmitted diseases, and battlefield losses. Even the ones who survived were left infertile from STD's and traumatized for life.

Are you even aware of the Japanese govt's official position on the comfort women issue?

Until 1992, the Japanese govt had denied that Japanese military had any involvement with comfort women. But in Jan. 1992, a Japanese researcher named Yoshimi discovered documents implicating the Japanese military in setting up and running the comfort women system and published the documents in a major newspaper. The very next day, the Japanese govt admitted responsibility..."

 
Then, part of my response:
********

Thank you for your comment, and I’m sorry for the late response. I appreciate much that you write in detail, but you seem to present commonly-held misconception on the comfort women issue, which I’d like to point out along with my comment. Since it will be long, I will just write partly, and continue writing in my blog.

First, the Japanese Prisoner of War Information Report No.49 dated Oct 1, 1944, is the official document of the US Army written based on the interrogation of 20 Korean comfort women who had been serving the Japanese Army in Burma up until the day they were captured by the US Army. This is the valid, first- or second-degree historical evidence to reveal the actual conditions of the comfort women from that period. The credibility of such document is thus significant.

You mention that “in other places in the Japanese empire, comfort women fared a lot worse”, and “three-quarters of comfort women died during the war. They died due to harsh conditions and mistreatment, rampant sexually transmitted diseases…”, but what is your historical evidence to claim these? Discussion of history must be based on analysis of valid evidence, and not assumption or belief.

As you correctly point out, the Report says that many women were recruited based on deception: “The inducement used by these agents was plenty of money, an opportunity to pay off the family debts, easy work, and the prospect of a new life in a new land, Singapore. On the basis of these false representations many girls enlisted for overseas duty and were rewarded with an advance of a few hundred yen” (p.1).

But note that they were “rewarded with an advance of a few hundred yen”. This was a huge amount, considering that the monthly salary of a first class solider was 10 yen, and the sergeant 30 yen. The Report says that “the contract they signed bound them to Army regulations and to war for the "house master " for a period of from six months to a year depending on the family debt for which they were advanced” (p.1), and “girls who had paid their debt could return home” (p.3). Again, the income these women received was humongous (about 25-75 times that of a soldier), thus some of them did go home. It looks to me that this was rather a fair business deal, not slavery.

The Report also mentions:

“The girls were allowed the prerogative of refusing a customer. This was often done if the person were too drunk” (p.1);

“The health of these girls were good… They were well trained in looking after both themselves and customers in the matter of hygiene. A regular Japanese Army doctor visited the houses once a week and any girl found diseased was given treatment, secluded, and eventually sent to a hospital” (p.4);

“There were numerous instances of proposals of marriage (from soldiers) and in certain cases marriages actually took place” (p.4).

Nowhere in the Report has it mentioned that women died due to mistreatment, as you claim. Quite the opposite. The Report says that 800 comfort women were sent to Burma, and it’s sensible to assume that these women operated under the same management and treatment. You mention that this is just one document about comfort women in one specific part of the Japanese empire. However, the Army operates in a highly disciplined manner, with the same rules wherever it goes. Why would the Army pay humongous salary and take good care of comfort women in Burma, and “abuse, mistreat and kill” comfort women in other countries? It does not make sense.

In fact, the soldiers who violated the military rule and forced Dutch women to become comfort women in Indonesia were severely punished by the Japanese Army Headquarters once found, and the comfort station was immediately closed. This clearly demonstrates that the Japanese Army did not tolerate abduction / mistreatment of women.

You mention that, in 1992, professor Yoshimi “discovered documents implicating the Japanese military in setting up and running the comfort women system and published the documents in a major newspaper”.

Here, we need to make the point of argument clear: Yes, the Japanese military established and managed the comfort women system, mainly to prevent rapes in the local communities in the battle field. It was very important for Japanese military to respect the local community and not to cause anti-Japan sentiment because the goal of the war was to achieve peaceful and prosperous Greater East Asia, getting rid of the Western colonial powers from the region. That is why Japanese military recruited their own prostitutes, brought them to the battlefield, and managed the comfort stations in a disciplined manner.

In fact, the armies in other countries, such as the US, France, Germany, Italy, etc, tacitly or openly managed comfort stations in the battle field (http://note.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/detail/n203527). The tragedy is where such system was not established, as in the case of Korean army in the Vietnam war. The Korean soldiers abducted or raped a large number of Vietnamese women, leaving behind 5,000 – 30,000 Lai Dai Han, mixed-blood children. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_%C4%90%E1%BA%A1i_H%C3%A0n.

Thus, the point of argument is not whether the Japanese army managed the comfort stations or not, but whether the Japanese army “forced” women into prostitution or not, and the answer is NO.

In fact, the document that professor Yoshimi discovered in 1992 was the Japanese government’s order to ban and punish the crooked dealers who engaged in human trafficking / abduction of women (such trafficking had been traditionally a social problem in Korea and the police was clamping down on them under the Japanese administration). However, Asahi, the infamous anti-Japan pro-Korea newspaper, published a distorted article about it, widely claiming “Japanese involvement in comfort women system” to make the comfort women issue and amplify it. (This is how Asahi newspaper has been “making” historical issues, misleading the public. Beware if you are reading it!).

In June this year, professor Yoshimi was invited as a speaker at a symposium on comfort women organized by VAWWRAC. In the Q&A session, many questions were raised for him. I will introduce a few below: (Source: Seiron, Oct 2013, by Otaka Miki) 

Participant: “Is there anybody who witnessed the abduction of these women by the Japanese army?”

Prof. Yoshimi: “If we understand abduction as taking by force, there is a case of a village in China. There is also a case of a Dutch woman abducted in Indonesia…” [Prof. Yoshimi never mentioned of Korean women. Why doesn’t he if so many Koreans were abducted?] 

Participant: “At that time, 80% of the police in Korea were Koreans. How was abduction of Korean women possible?”

Prof. Yoshimi: “Er… If the recruiters were Koreans, their responsibility must have been pursued…” [He is not answering the question]

Participant: “How much income were the comfort women receiving?”

Prof. Yoshimi: “I don’t know. I think the soldiers were paying money, but the brokers were managing it, and some of it would go to comfort women, but some fees were subtracted….” [His answer is not clear, but he admits that the ones who managed the comfort stations were not the Japanese army but the brokers]

I will discuss Kono statement, etc, etc, in my blog next time.

In fact, the Japanese government has been the major source of creating the problem, because of their irresponsible statements without knowing the historical facts. I will write more.

Again, thank you for commenting on my blog, and thank you for reading.

 
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