PM Abe: “The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion”
Prime Minister Abe has denied that there is evidence that comfort women were forced to become sex slaves.
Japan’s nationalist prime minister denied Thursday that the country’s military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II, casting doubt on a past government apology and jeopardizing a fragile detente with his Asian neighbors.
The comments by Shinzo Abe, a member of a group of lawmakers pushing to roll back a 1993 apology to the sex slaves, were his clearest statement as prime minister on military brothels known in Japan as “comfort stations.”
Historians say some 200,000 women — mostly from Korea and China — served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Many victims say they were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops.
But Abe, who since taking office in September has promoted patriotism in Japan’s schools and a more assertive foreign policy, told reporters there was no proof the women were forced into prostitution.
“The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion,” Abe said.
His remarks contradicted evidence in Japanese documents unearthed in 1992 that historians said showed military authorities had a direct role in working with contractors to forcibly procure women for the brothels.
The documents, which are backed up by accounts from soldiers and victims, said Japanese authorities set up the brothels in response to uncontrolled rape sprees by invading Japanese soldiers in East Asia.
In 1993, then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono apologized to the victims of sex slavery, though the statement did not meet demands by former “comfort women” that it be approved by parliament. Two years later, the government set up a compensation fund for victims, but it was based on private donations — not government money — and has been criticized as a way for the government to avoid owning up to the abuse.
The mandate for the fund is to expire March 31.
I am looking forward to reading the Japanese language news later on.
UPDATE: Can anyone find this on the Japanese news? I checked Asahi Shinbun, where I was sure they would have something to say about this, but I found nothing.
kteen
It has also a dark side.
kojibomb
I am not so sure. I don’t deny Japan also have the problem of human traficking but it seems Korean human traficking to the country abroad is getting infamous.
ttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=0&f=/c/a/2006/10/06/MNGR1LGUQ41.DTL
kojibomb
That’s what pm abe is saying.
And according to pm abe, this whole ‘comfort women’ issue is the biggest prank in history(played by a bunch of old women from korea and china).
ponta,
dark sides like…?
ponta,
dark sides like the oppression of communists .Japanese or Korean, in which people are tortured by Japanese and Korean police men.
Japanese were mobilized to the battle fields, some Korean were mobilized to factories;they were relatively lucky but other Koreans were mobilized to coal mine where they had to work in hardship. We should not forget that.
And we must not forget Japan and Korea worked together in military, factory, troops, etc. That was an really unfortunate way for corporation.
And probably a lot of Koreans suffered from identity crisis. (I guess that is still happening in Japan and in other countries. Kojimob must know, he has a rich background but at the same time it is imaginable that it is hard to harmonize them.)It is likely old generalisation would tried to hold on to traditional, whereas younger generation try to assimilate new society.
And some Japanese used racial slur, or insulting words to Korean like 단체 꼴통?
And probably others….
I don’t believe that the Japanese military abducted, coerced them systematically to prostitute, but the millitary and the government is responsible that they created and maintained a system in which there is a possibility that some Korean and Chinese women were deceived(not by the Japanese government and military by the first hands though) and ended up with prostitution. In fact I have read some reports that sustain that such victims exist a lot(don’t know the exact number no the ratio). No responsibility for the military and government is too much. They have the responsibility that they created and maintained such system.
That said, I also believe that there were many Korean and Chinese women who knew what they were doing and was happy that they got payed for that.
This is evidence that a Japanese army compelling took the Korean comfort woman.
This is a letter written so that the comfort woman may tell miserable life.
This is a savings bank book of evidence that the comfort woman is made to work free of charge.
Prime Minister Abe might not know these clear evidences.
It is clear that this issue was “developped” by Asahi-shinbun and Seiji Yoshida.
So, in really, it is Japanese vs Japanese issue, not Japanese vs Korean.
lol > opp
BS my ass. Koreans can’t get enough of sex. Korean fisherman are sailing thousands of miles to distant shores to have sex with women and children.
See Sailors Blamed for Child Sex Trade
“te korekorea”!
The Koreans were so sex crazed that they were banned from setting foot on the island.
You’d think they would have learned their lesson. Nope. Once the ban was lifted, the Koreans went back to having sex with the wee ones.
Hallyu on the highseas?
See ‘Ugly Koreans’ Continue Sordid Antics in South Seas
As more people encounter bad Korean behavior around the world, that insult may well become universal.
dear opp,
.
Both of the advertisments look like they recruited women for comfort women, which may be a proof that they didn’t forced women.
.
.
This letter seems to be written about the “Teishintai(挺身隊)”, which was different from comfort women. Girls of “Teishintai” worked at factories, and they were proud of that. At the end of the letter, it says that her parents are happy, which was not adequate if their daughter is going to be a comfort woman.
.
.
This bank book seems to be Japanese woman’s and was printed the last sum in the 1990’s. Is this really a bank book of a comfort woman?
opp,
as Pacifist said, the middle one does’t seem to be the 慰安婦’s document.
Pacifist,
The woman of the last document, she is former 慰安婦. The poor lady always have to be exposed to world wide just like this as long as this so-called 慰安婦問題 continues. She just wanted the money she made leagally back. This must be stop now, as I said. I can see a lot of women feels disturbed by those old ladies who never stop demanding for “formal apology” which already settled bilaterally.
pacifist,
Yes. This was published in South Korea media as comfort woman’s evidence about four years ago.
This is 文玉珠(Korean name）’s bank book. It is 1992 to have confirmed her savings bank book during the WW2. She assumed that I was a comfort woman and was trying it in Japan.
pacifist san
Thank you that you translate my Japanese comment.
「フテキセツなブログ」 さんの所に動画があります。
http://futekisetu.blog.shinobi.jp/Entry/397/
pacifist,
Yes. This is evidence that the comfort woman was being recruited by a private entrepreneur by high pay. However Korean government use this as evidence of sex slave.
Hi! I wrote an entry linked to this entry.(I’m for you, Matt!)
I made my own translation of Kono’s testimony. But maybe it was better just to show this.
btw, Mr. ICHINOHE posted a new topic on my forum by reprinting someone’s entry. What do you think about it?
http://forums.chanel.ath.cx/viewtopic.php?t=2
Matt,
My comment seems got caught by spamfilter, could you recover it? and it happened a few time already. Could you tell me what is the cause? Thank you.
opp,
Now I understood your locgic. Do they still believe 挺身隊 means 慰安婦?
But…opp San, could you please refrain from writing down her name? I believe she didn’t joined the political activity like others, right? (I’m not perfectly sure about her, but if I was wrong,please let me know.) It is too painful that I always have to see her name as a evidence of their big income. Maybe this is a woman thing, but still, I hope you would rather not to write down her name. どうか、よろしくお願い致します。
Well, well… I thought there were already red light districts in Korea. The women there not young enough for Korean males?
I guess there’ll be a lot of “halfs” produced by those unions if this “New Korean Wave” continues. “Hallyu” indeed. Anyone care to guess whether there is a chance the Korean government would be able to clean up this mess? This is really appalling behavior. Imagine, an insult like: “You’re like a Corean.” Ouch.
I concur. Koreans should start doing something and learn self-criticism instead of blaming others (e.g., US, Japan) for their own failures and problems. Blame-shifting in order to save face or escape responsibility will not do anything constructive; it’ll only make them look bad as more and more people get to know the real Korea through unfiltered lenses.
Yet, what gets me is the typical Korean response to this kind of report: Instead of addressing that the issue exists and rebuking the disgusting actions of their compatriots, it’s often a deflection or diversion of issues, such the US and Japan are bad, too, it also happens in other places, etc. Anything but to discuss the problem at hand and make Korea as blameless as possible. Well, looking at the kinds of responses Koreans write in this blog and others, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised.
Has anyone translated the 1944 newspaper advertisements for “comfort women”? I notice that the ads said that the women had to be 17 years old or older.
The newspaper ads do seem to suggest that, at least in Korea, the recruitment of “comfort women” (military prostitutes) was open, legitimate, and socially acceptable. They are also evidence that prostitution paid well.
Yes, some women could have been kidnapped and turned into prostitutes by pimps, but it also seems likely that the money was a big attraction for a lot of desperately poor families and women in Korea.
By the way, “comfort women” is a mistranslation of 慰安婦 (위안부). A better translation would be “comfort wives,” which suggests that people most likely knew what the job entailed.
I don’t know what the problem is. I am working on it. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Gerry Bevers:
wives = 夫人 and not 婦人 (Those pronunciation is “fujin”, same, though.)
So Comfort Women itself is a correct translation of 慰安婦.
Addium
婦 = women and 夫 = husband.
When you use the word: 夫婦 , 婦 = woman -> wife . But 婦 itself means women.
opp, the ad shows the monthly payment of Yen300 which was several times as high as the amount the average young girl got paid at that time.Therefore, the applicant should have known what comfort woman was supposed to do. Also the amount shown on the bank book is consistent with the monthly payment of Yen300 promised.The bank book started with Yen500 on March 6, 1943（昭和１８年）. The amount recorded on May 23, 1945（昭和２０年）just before the end of the war reached Yen10,000. This shows she got what she had been guranteed.
Emmanuel,
You have to consider the Chinese characters. 夫人(부인) literally means “a husband’s person.” Instead, consider 夫婦(부부), which means “husband and wife.”
Gerry Bevers:
I don’t know Chinese but Chinese characters. I’m Japanese and not French or Latino. Just I thought you mixing 夫人 with 婦人. I mistook so. Naturally, I know the word: 夫婦. But 婦 in 慰安婦 means just women and not wives. e.g. we called female nurses for medical cares and cures 看護婦(Kangofu). 看護 = care and 婦 = women. You can call female nurses care wives?
> Gerry
Left one:
The candidates should be older than 17, less than or equal to 30, and healthy.
Interesting part of this ad is the recruiter’s name. It looks “許”、and seems non-Japanese.
Right one:
The candidates should be older than 16, less than or equal to 23.
The salary will be more than 300 yen/month.
And she can borrow her salary in advance upto 3000 yen.
Just fyi, the salary of a lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army was 110 yen/month those days.
OOPS. I mistaken on Right and Left.
In my last post, “Right one” refers left, and “Left one” refers right. Sorry.
orz
ふ 【婦】
(1)結婚している女性。
(2)婦人。女性。
1) A married woman.
2) A woman.
Kaneganese,
The number of 200,000 means a number of Teishintai. Therefore, a part of the myth will still be believed.
I see. Her trial requested the restoration of savings. However, it is also true that she was politically used by South Korea.
Thank you, Void. That is interesting.
void said “It looks 許”. This refutes the
Korean claim that every Korean was forced
to use a Japanese name.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank PM Abe for his denial. It certainly shuts up those who said Japan has apologized plenty. Shinzo, Thanks. I can’t wait for his next denial, the natural deaths of thousands(for those who are picky about tens vs hundreds) in Nanking.
Abe simply stated the fact that there is no evidence for the claim that thousands of women were forced into sex slavery by Japanese government or military. It does not shut up those who said Japan has apologized plenty, though it provides a lesson for Japanese politicians like Kono that a misleading apology can be taken advantage of, and may well exacerbate the anti-Japanese sentiment.
And I don’t understand why he has to deny that thousands died in Nanking.
This topic is about the accusation that the Japanese army took 200,000 women away and forced them to become sex slaves. This is what you and many Koreans seek to force people to believe/feel about “comfort woman”. This accusation is totally unjustified. Why does Abe’s denial on this particular issue leads you to the conclusion that he is denying all Japanese war crimes? Your thinking is illogical.
My previous comment was a response to kjeff.
Mika,
If I remember correctly you abrubtly left our first bout of sparring.
In the spirit of nitpicking… Wrong. Some or many perhaps are more accurate. And although that was the topic, in this thread and feel free to correct me, I’ve so far argued the lack of consent by default rather than the existence or non-existence of ‘coercion’.
No, not just me “and many Koreans”. WE would include some or many Koreans, Chinese, Russians, South-East Asians(with the exception of Thais, never formally colonialized), and their former colonial powers(Dutch and British). “Unjustified” is a matter of debate, and the fact that Japanese government has “apologized” in 1993, the ball is really in your park to prove otherwise.
Now, you’re being too literal my dear Mika. I was poking fun of politics, Abe’s particularly(flip-flop-ness). If it was unclear, I was trying to point out that for the sake of ’satisfying your base’, anything is possible. Hey, a certain world leader don’t believe in evolution. So before accusing one’s thinking as “illogical”, please read them carefully. And I promise, for you, I’ll try make everything I wrote crystal clear.1 Maybe a footnote for you, hey, how about that…2
1. I’m being sarcastic.
2. I’m too mean.
3 I know little about the issue of comfort women.
?
ponta,
Little or much is in the eyes of beholder, no? ㅋㅋㅋ… And, I’ve never claimed to know much…do you? If we drop political correctness for a second…when you(not ‘you’ you, ponta) say ‘inconsistencies’, you’re essentially saying that they’re lying…when you(again, not ‘you’ you, ponta)say that “there were no coercion”, you’re saying that that they are common prostitutes…and, No, they’re not rape victims, they ASKED for it, ad we paid them plenty.
Drop the niceties for a second, tell me that’s not what you’re trying to say.
.
Ohh, you’ll say…we want to find out the truth…justice…counter the Korean or Chinese propaganda machines…correct the history…and my favorite, discuss…bla.bla.bla… And, you’ll believe that.(Again, not ‘you’, you Ponta)
And, you’ll talk about the ads, ‘wives vs women’ and “they got paid a lot”, and not once I’ve seen someone question, “What were the impacts of these ads to your poverty-stricken colonial subjects?” Sure, you couldn’t possibly have imagined that fathers would sell their daughters. Sure, you couldn’t possibly have imagined that profiteers would take advantage of this opportunity. Sure, you were trying everything you can to prevent them. Sure, you were not responsible. And, depraved indifference is…
Tha’s enough rants for one morning, and what do I know? I don’t know much about history.
kjeff, Japan is way ahead of Korea(& other countries) when it comes to personal and scholarly study of this issue. You should wonder why “comfort women” were never mentioned in Korean history textbooks before the 90’s. No one cared about this issue until Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun started the campaign of apologizing about comfort women in 1991. Asahi used Seiji Yoshida’s story as historical fact. Yoshida claimed to have kidnapped many Korean women and forced them to become comfort women, but now he admits that it was a fiction. In Japan, the issue is if there was forcible recruitment by the military or not.
kjeff
Thanks
I’ve never claimed you’ve claimed much. It is obvious, you know little about this subject. As for me, i think I have studied it a fair amount, .
Not really, you speak inconsistently when you are ignorant, or you misremember, you have mistaken belief.
I’d say most of them were prostitutes and they became prostitutes mainly out of poverty.Or let me put this way, if you call
Korean prositutes after 1945 sex slave, I agree that Korean prositutes under Japanese rule be called sex slaves.
No, that is exactly what you are saying about
modern Korean comfort women.
I could imagine that because it happened in Japan and it is happening in the poor village
in the poor country. Didn’t you know that?
Not really. Japan committed regulating illegal pimps, Koreans and Japanese, but the result was that there were many women who were deceived. Japan IS responsible for that.
And Japan apologized and set up the funds.
But unfortunately
And Korean comfort women complain:
Anyway, Abe would not deny the apology Koizumi made.
ttp://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/pmletter.html
Not only that, I am afraid you didn’t know much about modern Korean comfort women.
Do you think the large number of Korean prositutes after 1945 ASKED for it? Are they willing to become prositutes?
Have Korean government and Korea ultranationalists apologized and set up funds
for them?
Mika,
To borrow my wife’s favorite lines:
“So what? What are you trying to say? What? You know more than me? Then what? What? You want me to shut up? That’s what you want? WHAT?”
I’ll add, Soooo sorry that we’re too busy eating…(with Korean accent)
That’d sound so much better in Korean, but in case…
I’m either to subtle or really a bad writer, or both.(No “Yes, you are” replies, please)
I haven’t got my morning coffee yet, can you explain what “that” is?
See, that’s one of the most original arguments I’ve heard. Whoever invented it first must be a genius. I personally call it, the reverse slut-defense. Like when somebody is accused of rape, his scumbag lawyer sometimes would argue, “She’s a slut; she asked for it.” Reverse slut-defense goes the other way, “She became a slut; she must have asked for it.” Now, that’s genius.
Now, this is a great apology. 35 words. Yes, I counted. That must have taken God knows how many days to write. Hillary couldn’t have written it better.
.
And finally ponta,
Sarcasms aside, I must confess. There’s no one in this blog I admire more than you. Your dedication, your knowlege, (and I’m not accusing. Amazement perhaps. Too good to be true kind. If you’re not paid…) your passion are one of a kind. Dude, you must have some serious archives at home, stats, quotes, and everything…
I don’t know where you are so… Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Night!
Might I suggest another option: you might be a bad reader. What do you want me to reply more than that?
Japan is responsible for insufficient control of illegally pimps, Koreans or Japanese and probably she is also responsible for not setting up the sufficient checking system by which the rule is enforced.
What does your coffee has to do with this question, btw. Is that the way you want to admit you are a bad writer?
Completely illogical comparison.
Korean prostitutes suffered under Japanese rule.
Japan held responsibility and apologized.
Korea just avoid facing the reality.
If your rapist were Japan, the victims were Korean prostitutes I am not saying Korean prostitutes have asked it. I said again and again they were no coerced in the sense they were abducted;probably they became prostitutes mostly our of poverty, and some were deceived by pimps just as Korean prostitutes now. But you are implying that the large number of Korean prostitutes asked for it because you want to emphasize the difference between Korean prostitutes under Japanese rule and those under Korean rule;you
want to say the former was coerced, but the latter asked for it….there is no problem with the latter. That is what you have been implying unless you expand your explanation for Korean sex slave after the Korean independence.
Did you read the whole sentences on the link? Should Japanese politicians add, “thousands apologies”?
Rather isn’t it irrational 恨 that demands endless apologies?
And finally Kjeff,
why have you been ignoring the ultranatioalists’ irrational demad not to receive funds. Why have you ignoring Korean cold attitude to the former comfort women they complained. Why have you ignoring that Korea have been engaged in the cofort station
in the similar way Japanese troop was.
Korean society and you have been ignoring when you and Korean society are busy demanding endless apology from Japan.
kjeff
Where did your anger went when it comes to Korean comfort women after the indepennce in South Korea and in China?
Matt,
I suppose that “強制性” should better be translated somehow different from “強制連行”. You know, the once commonly-used phrase, “強制連行の事実”, means in the strict sense the fact that the Japanese military forcibly took the women out of their home, whereas “強制性” has a broader meaning, maybe like “coersiveness”. After Yoshida Seiji admitted in 1996 that his well-known 1983 book (in which he “confessed” he coerced over 1,000 Korean women) was a fabrication, the former comfort women and their supporters tend to use the latter word, thereby attempting an extended interpretation of their initial claim. This seems to be the very reason PM Abe intentionally used the phrase,“狭義の強制性”.