Japanese Troops waiting for their turns at a comfort station Image from E- Museum for the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery
What is Japanese Military Comfort Women?
“Japanese military comfort women” refer to women who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese militaryin “comfort stations” established under the pretext of conducting the war efficiently from the period between the time right after Japan staged the Manchuria Incident on September 18, 1931, and 1945 when Japan was defeated in the Pacific War.
-How many women were involved?
Currently, the exact totals of the numbers of women mobilized as comfort women are not available, as systematic data indicating the numbers of mobilized comfort women have not been discovered as yet. Some scholars estimated the total number of comfort women victims based on various testimonies or historical materials indicating the Japanese military`s plan on the ratio of the number of soldiers to the number comfort women. Various opinions have been presented on the total numbers of comfort women, which varies extensively among scholars, ranging from a minimum of 30,000 to a maximum of 400,000.
-Where are the women from?
In the early stages of comfort stations, the Japanese military recruited women mainly from its colonies such as Korea and Taiwan. As the war became more protracted and war fronts expanded, women from Japanese-occupied territories such as China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and even Dutch women residing in Indonesia, were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese servicemen. Yoshiaki Yoshimi (吉見義明), a historian who has long researched the issue of comfort women released a research finding that the number of comfort women is estimated at 80,000 to 200,000 and Korean women comprised more than half of the total comfort women population.
-Why were “comfort station” established?
After staging the Manchurian Incident, Japan started to expand its military aggression. The Japanese military established “comfort stations” under the pretexts of
1) preventing rape by Japanese soldiers against local women
2) preventing venereal diseases
3) providing sexual comfort to soldiers.
-How did they become sex slaves?
The Japanese military mobilized Korean women as comfort women by luring them with promises of work, as well asvia intimidation or violence, human trafficking and kidnapping. The women were defrauded with promises of “work in factories” or offers of “making a lot of money” into joining the military brothels.
Newspaper advertising of comfort women recruitment was also issued, but it did not clearly specify job description. In addition, given the newspaper subscription rates and literacy rates of women at that time, it is considered that there were few cases where the recruitment advertising was delivered to women in person.
Sources: The Commission on Verification and Support for the Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Colonialism in Korea and excerpts from “Stories of Twelve Women,” a collection of comfort women`s testimonies
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