|
Comfort women were women forced into serving the Japanese army as
prostitutes during its occupation of Korea, China and much of South East
Asia.
Forced into sexual slavery by Japan and raped dozens of times daily by
Japanese soldiers, the euphemistically named "comfort women" have faced
lives of enduring shame.
The Japanese government has steadfastly denied any official complicity
with these rapes. Some Japanese officials call them "volunteers". Japanese
history textbooks for schoolchildren of all ages carefully omit any mention
of the comfort women. Demands for official apologies and compensation have
gone unheeded. Although Japan has issued statements of regret, and some
private groups have funded some compensation victims say these measure fall
short of a the full apology and official compensation they deserve. Japan's
view has long been that all financial matters were fully resolved via treaty
three decades ago and repeatedly insists that "we have already apologized".
The stigma of having been raped is much more severe in the Far East than
in America. Comfort women felt bound to keep quiet, lest they fail to find
husbands. The shame and blame heaped on these victims of Japanese cruelty
has multiplied their pain.
|
