Abe: issue of military comfort women cannot be described in words

 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to continue explaining his country's stance on the comfort women issue, after U.S. President Barack Obama last week described Japan's wartime system of sex slavery as "a terrible violation of human rights." According to a report by Japan’s Kyodo news agency Sunday, Abe said words cannot describe what the women went through and that it’s heartbreaking to think about it.

​-Does he really mean it? We’ll see.

sources: http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=161568

[출처] Abe: issue of military comfort women cannot be described in words|작성자 공모전 합창

Japan may repeat history it denies

                 On eve of visit by the U.S. president, Abe’s record is recounted

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, is led by a Shinto priest as he visits the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Dec. 26, 2013. He was the first prime minister to do so in seven years. [REUTERS/NEWS1]
 
 Last Dec.26 Abe paid respects at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which enshrines Class-A war criminals among its war dead, as it is viewed as a symbol of Japan’s militarism and denial of its colonial brutalities. 
 While he was serving as prime minister for one year from 2006 to 2007, he provoked international outrage when he made remarks as “There is no evidence to probe there was coercion of women in to sexual slavery.” After international criticism, his government issued an apology later the same month.
 On March 14, Abe for the first time he will uphold the 1993 Kono Statement acknowledging and apologizing for the forced recruitment of women as sex slaves by Japanese military. Yoon Mee-hyang, co-head of Korean Council for the Women Drafted for military Sexual Slavery by Japan said the recent Japanese actions are more as a gesture to the U.S. ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit, rather than actually wanting a resolution to the issue.”
Japan expert Nam Sang-gu, a senior researcher at Northeast Asian History Foundation, a state-run research institute said the Japanese government needs to acknowledge its forced mobilization of women into sexual slavery “as a national crime” and offer official reparations to make the apology non-retractable.
 Nam said he anticipated that Abe in his 70th anniversary statement on Aug 15. 2015, will follow Koizumi’s lead and may leave out the phrase “through its colonial rule and aggression,” which he has been hesitant to use in the past.

Source: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2988430

[출처] Japan may repeat history it denies|작성자 공모전 합창

[출처] Japan may repeat history it denies|작성자 공모전 합창

[출처] Japan may repeat history it denies|작성자 공모전 합창

Comfort women deserve a memorial: their ordeal must not be forgotten

 "My mother was forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. To hear the Japanese prime minister say 'comfort women' were voluntary prostitutes is shocking."

Jan Ruff O’Herne, the author's mother. Photograph: Greg Weight

 Author Carol Ruff’s mother Jan Ruff O’Herne was a former “comfort woman” or sex slave during World War II. Three weeks ago her mother was featured in The Age newspaper in response to a state by Prime Minister Abe of Japan, who declared “comfort women” were all voluntary prostitutes. However, her mother was not a voluntary prostitute. When she was 21 years old, she was taken away and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese military. For 50 years, she told no one of her war-time experiences, but after she saw Korean war-rape victims making appeals for justice in 1992, she finally spoke out and spent 15 years fighting for the rights of women in war and armed conflict.

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  “Women are often forgotten heroes of the war. The pain and humiliation of sexual servitude is great. This proposed statue is not a vindictive act towards Japanese people. It is a gesture towards reconciliation healing of the wounds of the World War II. Only through truth can we move forward and learn from the past.” Carol said.

source : http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/03/comfort-women-deserve-a-memorial-their-ordeal-must-not-be-forgotten

[출처] Comfort women' deserve a memorial: their ordeal must not be forgotten|작성자 공모전 합창

[출처] Comfort women' deserve a memorial: their ordeal must not be forgotten|작성자 공모전 합창

Waiting for a ‘Sincere’ Apology

 ‘Sexual Slavery’ is a brutal phrase that we are familiar with. So-called “Comfort Women” refer to women who were enforced prostitution to keep the morale of Japanese troops up during World War II. War is over but the war never ended for the “comfort women.” The victims have requested the Japanese government’s official apology for several times, yet the victims haven’t received an apology from the government. Japan’s leaders should give a sincere apology to the victims because this is not just about politics but about the value of human being.

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source​

http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/home_top-opinion-opinion_columns/1261700/Waiting-for-an-apology-for-sex-slave-atrocity  

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[출처] Waiting for a ‘Sincere’ Apology|작성자 공모전 합창

Schiff pays a visit to comfort-women statue

Congressman Adam Schiff lights incense and kneels before the Glendale Comfort Woman statue on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, in honor of 87-year-old former comfort woman Li Xiumei who died recently. (Roger Wilson / Staff PhotographerApril 22, 2014)

Rep. Adam Schiff(D-Burbank) called on the Japanese government on Tuesday to “speak plainly” about a dark chapter in the country’s history in which Korean, Chinese and other women were used as sex slaves by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

 “Avoidance is not a solution and reconciliation cannot be predicated on lies,” Schiff said, referring to Japanese officials who have downplayed the victimization of an estimated 80,000 to 200,000 women. “Glendale has been under pressure to remove the memorial, I felt it was important to show my support,” he said.

 During his visit, he lit incense and knelt before the statue in honor of an 87-year-old former comfort woman of Chinese descent who died recently.

source :

http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-schiff-pays-a-visit-to-comfortwomen-statue-20140422,0,1720009.story

[출처] Schiff pays a visit to comfort-women statue|작성자 공모전 합창

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[출처] Schiff pays a visit to comfort-women statue|작성자 공모전 합창

Ikumi Yoshimatsu, The Queen of Beauty and Courage ​ ​

Ikumi Yoshimatsu, The Queen of Beauty and 

Courage 

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 ​I feel so happy that there are people who admit historical wrongs. Also, I hope this become an opportunity for people to know the truth and support comfort women.

  Ikumi Yoshimatsu, the former winner of the 2012 Miss international beauty contest, became an issue after she had talked about the former sex slaves during World War II. She said she was “embarrassed” and “angered” by some lawmakers who did not think it was right to compensate for comfort women. Some people posted harsh comments on her facebook as “international embarrassment” or “dumb beauty queen.” Yoshimatsu apologized on the social media, saying some of her words might have been mistranslated. However, she was saddened by the fact that the comfort women had been forced to undergo such horrific treatment.

Sources: http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/04/10/2014041001401.html

[출처] Ikumi Yoshimatsu, The Queen of Beauty and Courage|작성자 공모전 합창

In The Fight To Vindicate The Comfort Women, Ordinary Americans Upstage U.S. Tokyo Ambassador Caroline Kennedy

Few days ago, I posted an article (http://blog.naver.com/hapchang2014/60213876101) that the Chicago-based Mayer Brown is withdrawing from the case calling for a removal of comfort women statue in Glendale. Mayer Brown was probably reacting to coruscating criticism from such well informed legal experts as Ken White, a prominent Log-Angeles-based criminal attorney, and Marc Randazza, a First Amendment lawyer.

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The important lesson from this case is that although early hopes that the Internet would prove a powerful tool for a good have been dashed, it still can help the ordinary decent American public win out at a time while many elite Americans including Caroline Kennedy, have gone AWOL on Japanese neo-fascism.

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Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy, serves as President Barack Obama’s ambassador to Japan. She could have announced that any move by Japan to “unapologize” would be viewed with dismay in the United States. She has been all but silent.

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​For more details, check the website below.

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Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/eamonnfingleton/2014/05/04/in-the-fight-to-vindicate-the-comfort-women-ordinary-americans-upstage-caroline-kennedy/