About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

15 Temp. Int'l & Comp. L.J. 121 (2001)
Seeking Reparations in the New Millinnium: Will Japan Compensate the Comfort Women of World War II

handle is hein.journals/tclj15 and id is 127 raw text is: SEEKING REPARATIONS IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: WILL JAPAN COMPENSATE THE COMFORT WOMEN OF WORLD WAR II? INTRODUCTION The Japanese government faces great condemnation for its failure to make any significant reparations to the women it forced into sexual slavery during the Second World War. The Japanese Imperial Army forced an es- timated 200,000 women, primarily from the countries of China, Korea, and the Philippines, to serve as comfort women for the army from the years of 1931 to 1945.' These unfortunate women worked in comfort stations where they continuously were abused and raped. Some historians believe that only thirty percent of the women survived the war.' One member of the Japanese Diet (the Japanese Parliamentary institution), Representative Sei- juro Arahune, publicly stated that as many as 145,000 sex slaves died during World War II.3 Japan, however, asserts that it has settled all war claims with regards to these women and other foreign nationals in the post-war treaties that it signed. Many critics, however, point to the fact that Japan's treaties with its Asian neighbors and formerly occupied territories lacked explicit apologies.' These critics suggest that many of the treaties reflected Japan's economic domination of its poorer neighbors.' Japan has denied the plight of the com- fort women for decades. Although it has received great criticism and scru- i See U.N. Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Mi- norities; Statement of Democratic People's Republic of Korea, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/SR.10, at 14, 15 (1993) (noting that the investigation by Committee for the Investigation of Damage Caused by Japanese Imperialists During Their Occupation of Korea placed the number at 200,000). See also GEORGE L. HICKS, THE COMFORT WOMEN: THE SEX SLAVES OF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE FORCES (1994). 2 See HICKS, supra note 1; see also John Lee, Ex-Comfort Girls End Silence on War Horrors; Japan has Admitted to the Conscription of Asian Women for Sex during World War 11, but Some of the Survivors are Pressing for Reparations, L.A. TIMES, Apr. 25, 1992. ' See Karen Parker & Jennifer Chew, Compensation for Japan's World War Rape Victims, 17 HASTINGS INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 497, 542 n.6 (Spring 1994). Representative Arahune also is credited with making the following statement in a 1975 campaign speech: 142,000 Korean comfort women died. The Japanese soldiers killed them. Id. In es- sence, this statement can be seen as an admission by a government official that Japanese soldiers were guilty of murder. However, the Japanese government never has made this claim under official policy. Therefore, such a claim will be difficult to use against them. 4 See generally David Boling, Mass Rape, Enforced Prostitution, and the Japanese Imperial Army: Japan Eschews International Legal Responsibility, 32 COLUM. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 533, 557 (1995). See also Parker & Chew, supra note 3. 'See Yvonne Park Hsu, Comfort Women from Korea: Japan's World War II Sex Slaves and the Legitimacy of Their Claims for Reparations, 2 PAC. RIM L. & POL'Y J. 97, 104-105 (Winter 1993). 6 See id.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most