Imperial Japans System of Military Sexual Slavery

Edmonton ALPHA Edmonton ALPHA A ssociation for L earning and P reserving the H istory of WWII in A sia

The Comfort Women Issue A poster stating the location of a Comfort House for Japanese soldiers DEC 1937 – JAN 1938: As the Rape of Nanking hit foreign newspapers the Japanese military instituted Comfort stations to hide the actions of their soldiers. Only about 30% of the 200,000 women forced into this form of sexual slavery survived this ordeal. The Japanese military kidnapped women from Korea, China and other countries and forced them into prostitution.

The Comfort Women Issue A poster stating the location of a Comfort House for Japanese soldiers Today in Korea there are fewer than 100 comfort woman survivors. No one knows how many comfort women survivors are still living in China.

Japans Extensive System of Military Sexual Slavery

Comfort House ( ) – formerly a familys home in Shanghai

A Comfort Womans room…

As a child, Dr. CHEN lived in this house before Japan turned it into a Rape House.

Day after day, the heavy tread of soldiers boots could be heard upon these narrow stairs …heard by the young women confined to Japans system of sexual slavery…

COMFORT STATION I climb the narrow stairway, as so many men before me I touch the cold, hard wall and in an instant I feel..., I hear..., I see...

… I feel myself shaking, ripping, my knees ready to give out. COMFORT STATION

There is no comfort here. Thank God for the people around me to catch me if I fall. Greg van Vugt 2008 Study Tour

Meeting a survivor of military sexual slavery…

Madam Tan receives a knitted shawl from her Canadian friends.

Koreas Halmoni the Grandmas

House of Sharing Koreas House of Sharing & Museum of Sexual Slavery by Japanese Military

Unblossomed Flower by Young-suk Yoon Unblossomed Flower by Young-suk Yoon

House of Sharing Koreas House of Sharing & Museum of Sexual Slavery by Japanese Military Ontario mother Judy Cho translates the curators remarks for her Canadian colleagues…

Grandma KIL Won-Ok House of Sharing Koreas House of Sharing & Museum of Sexual Slavery by Japanese Military

Canadian Teachers join the Wednesday Noon Demonstration in front of the Japanese Embassy JULY 2008 – Seoul, Korea

S SS Survivors Demands Acknowledge the war crimeAcknowledge the war crime Officially apologizeOfficially apologize Accurately portray the history in textbooksAccurately portray the history in textbooks

Canada Responds 2007 November 28: Members of parliament consider MOTION 291. The motion asks the Japanese Diet to 1) acknowledge the history of Comfort Women and 2) make a formal and sincere apology. The motion is passed unanimously.

European ParliamentEuropean Parliament U.S. CongressU.S. Congress Korean ParliamentKorean Parliament Taiwanese ParliamentTaiwanese Parliament Philippine House of RepresentativesPhilippine House of Representatives Dutch ParliamentDutch Parliament Military Sexual Slaveryall these legislatures unanimously passed resolutions calling on Japan to recognize its moral obligation to those enslaved in its system of Military Sexual Slavery The World Responds

And in Japan (2008) 28 March:28 March: Takarazuka City Council in Osaka passed a resolution on calling on the Government of Japan to address the issue of the comfort women system. 25 June:25 June: Kiyose City Council in Tokyo followed suit. 7 November:7 November: Sapporo City Council, Hokkaido, passed a similar resolution.

These resolutions are a call for action from the Japanese government. The Japanese government should recognize that the world will not forget the abuses inflicted by the comfort women system [and] apologize for its actions now... Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director, Amnesty InternationalSam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director, Amnesty International