Joint Statement by Associations of History Scholars and Educators in Japan on the "Comfort Women" Issue
Triggered by the
retraction of articles in the Asahi Shimbun in August 2014, certain
politicians and sections of the media have made statements which intend to cast
doubt on the wartime issue of the "comfort women" and facts
regarding their forced recruitment by the Imperial Japanese Army. In light of
such injurious statements, associations of history scholars and educators throughout
Japan have come together to jointly issue this statement, and to point out the
following three problems with these unjust points of view.
Firstly, the Kono
Statement, in which the Japanese government officially acknowledged the
involvement of the Imperial Japanese Army in the establishment and operations
of military brothels, including the forced recruitment of women, is not based
on the retracted Asahi articles; nor does it rely on the testimony of
Seiji Yoshida, a former member of a semi-governmental organization for wartime
mobilization, which was cited in the articles. Accordingly, the retractions do
not undermine the historical basis of the Kono Statement. The existence of
forcibly recruited "comfort women" has been verified by many historical records and
extensive research. It should be understood that forced recruitment of "comfort women" was not limited to
cases of straightforward kidnapping (confirmed in Semarang, Indonesia and the
Shanxi Province in China and testified to by many in the Korean Peninsula), but
also included cases of recruitment against the will of the individual (widely
confirmed, particularly in the Korean Peninsula).
Secondly, those who
were made "comfort women" fell victim to
unspeakable violence as sex slaves. As recent historical studies have shown,
victims were subjected not only to forced recruitment, but also to conditions
of sexual slavery which violated their basic human rights. Furthermore, the "comfort women" system was based on
structures of institutionalized discrimination between the colonizer and the colonized that was a fundamental part of
everyday, imperialist-Japanese rule. Therefore, even if there had been something such as a contract for sex
trafficking, ignoring the systems of inequality and injustice which formed the
backdrop to these arrangements, and thereby disregarding the political and
social context of the time is to miss the full picture.
Thirdly, due to
coverage by sections of the mass media which has intentionally overemphasized
the "misreporting" of the issue, some
academics engaged in the "comfort women" issue, as well as
their affiliated organizations, have been unfairly attacked with threats
calling for their resignation or the cancellation of their lectures. This is a
violation of academic freedom and must be emphatically rejected.
By continuing to
take the irresponsible stance of denying the facts of wartime sexual slavery in
the Japanese military, certain politicians and sections of the media are essentially conveying
to the rest of the world that Japan does not respect human rights. This kind of
attitude tramples further upon the dignity of the victims, who have already
born terrible hardships. Thus, what is required now is-- as declared in the
Kono Statement--an attitude that seeks, through
historical research and education, to remember the issues and never repeat past
mistakes.
We renew our demand
for all concerned politicians and media outlets to squarely face up to the
damage that Japan inflicted in the past, as well as to the victims.
May 25, 2015
16 associations of history scholars and educators in Japan
The Japanese
Historical Council
Association of
Historical Science
Association of
History of Japanese Thought
The Historical
Association of Senshu University
The Historical
Science Society of Japan
The Historical Society
of Fukushima University
The Historical Society
of Tokyo Gakugei University
History
Educationalist Conference of Japan
The Japan
Association for Korean History (Committee)
The Japanese
Historical Society
The Japanese Society
for Historical Studies
The Kyushu Society
of Historical Science
Osaka Historical
Association
The Society for
Historical Science of Nagoya
The Society for
Research on Women's History
Tokyo Historical
Science Association