Larry Niksch

“ The military may not have directly carried out the majority of recruitment, especially in Korea; but the Abe government’s denial of any evidence of military coercion in recruitment goes against the testimony former comfort to Japanese government researchers who compiled the 1992–1993 government report and the testimony of forced recruitment by nearly 200 former comfort women from different Asian countries and the Netherlands of the 400 plus testimonies cited in Yuki Tanaka’s book, Japan’s Comfort Women. ”

“ The government’s position on direct compensation payments has been that the Peace Treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers of 1951 required Japan to pay reparations directly to occupied countries and allied countries and that these reparations covered any potential claims from individuals in these countries. Japan had entered into several such agreements with occupied countries. The government also reportedly has feared that direct compensation payments to former comfort women would result in other groups claiming abuse by Japan during World War II demanding similar compensation. ”

“ Forcible conscription is charged and documented in the Dutch government’s War Crimes Tribunals, as documented in Document AS 5200 of the Dutch National Archives and the 1994 Dutch government’s Report of a Study of Dutch Government Documents on the Forced Prostitution of Dutch Women in the Dutch East Indies during the Japanese Occupation. These proceedings and reports document a number of cases in which the Japanese army forcibly removed Dutch women from internment camps under the army’s supervision (sometimes after camp inmates resisted) and compelled them to serve as comfort women. ”

“ The evidence points to deception as a common practice of military and military contractor procurers. The Korean women at Myitkyina told U.S. military interviewers that recruiters told them and many other Korean women in Burma that they would be working in hospitals in Singapore caring for wounded Japanese troops. Most of the Korean women at Kunming, China, testified that they and about 300 other Korean comfort women were recruited through advertisements in Korean newspapers offering employment for Korean girls in Japanese factories in Singapore. ”

“ In September 2000, 15 former comfort women from China, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Philippines filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking claims (including claims for financial compensation) against the Japanese government under the U.S. Alien Tort Statute. ”

“ The Treaty of Peace mandated that Japan enter into reparations agreements with Allied countries, whose territories were occupied by Japan, and it stated that “except as otherwise provided in the present Treaty, the Allied Powers waive all reparations claims of the Allied Powers, other claims of the Allied Powers and their nationals arising out of any actions taken by Japan and its nationals in the course of the prosecution of the war.” ”

“ Prime Minister denies women were forced into WWII brothels. Washington Post, March 2, 2007. P. A9. Sieg, Linda. Japan won’t apologize again for WW2 sex slaves—PM. Reuters News, March 4, 2007. Fackler, Martin. No apology for sex slavery, Japan’s Prime Minister says. New York Times, March 6, 2007. P. A9. ↑ Fackler, Martin. No apology for sex slavery, Japan’s Prime Minister says. New York Times, March 6, 2007. P. A9. Statement by Prime Minister Abe during debate in the Budget Committee in the Upper House of the Diet, March 9, 2007. ↑ Abe will stand by 1993 statement over sex slavery. ”