(The following article is from theSeptember 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers and  overseas readers - $50 per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Sean Burton

World War Two ended sixty‑four years ago, but its scars linger on. Among the many shameful and criminal acts in that conflict was Imperial Japan's practice of coercing women in occupied countries to become "comfort women" for its soldiers. Effectively a form of sex slavery, the practice affected perhaps hundreds of thousands of women. The majority were from Korea, China, and Japan itself.

     Every Wednesday since 1992, demonstrations have been held at the Japanese embassy in Seoul to demand a resolution of the issue by the Japanese government. Despite the changes imposed by the post-war U.S. occupation, Japan has managed to avoid taking direct responsibility for many of its war crimes. Or perhaps that evasion of responsibility is precisely because of those changes! Because of the atomic bombings, because having a military was prohibited, and because of its position vis a vis the Cold War, Japan has for decades acted more like a victim. Even now, Japan keeps up this innocent act with regards to North Korea.

     The actual number of women involved and the manner of their treatment is continually disputed. It has been estimated that only 25% of the women survived, and many suffered from various diseases that prevented them from having children. Beatings and other forms of torture also occurred. Incriminating evidence was destroyed at the end of the war, and as late as 2007, the Japanese government insisted that it never instituted this sex slavery, stating that the brothels were privately‑run and thus had no connection to state policy.

     In 1991 documents from the archives of the Japanese defence ministry were found that revealed the military was directly involved in running the brothels. When those findings were released to the press, it shook the government into releasing an apology of sorts. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yohei Kono, issued a statement in 1993 in which he said that the brothels were operated "in response to the request of the military of the day" and that the military was "directly or indirectly involved" in the establishment of "comfort stations". Kono attributed everything else to private recruiters, and thus the apology was worded to avoid accepting legal responsibility. Japan subsequently set up the "Asia Women's Fund" to provide material compensation plus a signed apology from the Prime Minister.

     But, as a recent Korea Herald article reminded its readers, this fund was based solely on private donations. Because of the unofficial nature of the fund, most surviving comfort women have refused to accept the money. A UN investigation in 1998 concluded that the system of comfort women was indeed a crime against humanity and that other elements of the system were illegal even at the time they were instituted.

     These findings are conveniently ignored by Japan's government. In 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted there was no evidence that force was used against those women, and his education minister lauded the fact that references to "wartime sex slavery" had been largely abolished from official history textbooks. Some Japanese historians, such as Ikuhiko Hata of Nihon University, argue that the number of comfort women did not exceed 20,000, and that none were coerced.

     One may well think that Korea, from which many of the women were taken, has been on the front line of forcing Japan to accept responsibility. In 1990, the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan was formed. This non‑profit organization sponsors the weekly protests in Seoul demanding Japan take responsibility and punish those who were involved if they still live. They also want to build a museum and promote the issue to a wider audience, but they have a distinct lack of financial support.

     Much to the anger of its membership, the South Korean government's record on the issue is rather dubious. During the days of military dictatorship, the subject was little heard of. It became more widely known at a time when women's rights activists began investigating prostitution geared toward the US military in South Korea. According to Katharine Moon in an article in The Journal of Asian Studies ten years ago, the investigators found that many of the women involved had been kidnapped, raped, or otherwise coerced and harmed, and that such practices were regulated and sustained by US and South Korean government policies. The South Korean government was therefore catering to yet another imperialist master. Seoul would not condemn Japan lest it draw uncomfortable parallels to local affairs.

     Even since the "liberalization" of the country in the early 1990s, the government in Seoul has done little to pressure Japan. The two countries bicker over a couple of rocks in the East Sea (known in Korea as Dok Do), but a matter of real, and historical, concern isn't worthy of similar attention.

     Imperialism's grip on South Korea is such that its leaders would rather ignore or gloss over the wrongs committed against their country because, as we all know, the real threat are the reds!

     At least half of Korea is forthright in its opinions. Founded on anti‑imperialist principles, the Democratic People's Republic Korea has from its inception demanded that Japan take responsibility for its crimes. It is sad indeed that world opinion has been poisoned against that small, isolated country which has done more to defend the Korean nation than its southern counterpart ever has.

     (The link to the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan is: http://www.womenandwar.net/english/index.php)