Professor Yoichi Shimada of Fukui University, vice chairman of the “Sukuu-kai” (National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea), was astonished to find a reference to Japan’s supposed enslavement of women in the latest edition of the Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law (Oxford University Press, 2012).
　　　　　In footnote 53 under the section for “Slavers,” the handbook states: “Confronting enslavement and sexual slavery during Second World War accusations, Japan has argued that there was no customary law against slavery then.” Oxford’s handbooks are used by legal scholars throughout the world as authoritative reference books. To see a false reference of this nature to Japan in such a publication is an outrage. What is equally disconcerting is the weak-kneed attempt by the Japanese government to answer accusations which have no basis in fact.
　　　　　This attempted justification by the government was made at the time the so-called “McDougal Report” on the current state of slavery was issued by the United Nations in June 1998.
Slavery is a system in which people are treated as property and denied financial freedom and freedom of movement. The case of the so-called “comfort women” absolutely does not fall within this definition. More harm than good has been done by ignoring this fact and instead making irrelevant explanations about the lack of laws banning slavery at the time.
　　　　　It is likely that this cowardly and irresponsible statement of justification came out of a joint effort between the Foreign Ministry and the Bureau for Gender Equality of the Cabinet Office. While this at first appears to be a low profile bureau, it in fact plays a large role in the communications that are sent out from Japan to the broader world. Keiko Takegawa has recently been appointed as head of the bureau. We must continue to keep a close eye on Ms. Takegawa and the Foreign Ministry to see how they deal with these historical issues from the war era that impact Japan and its honor.
　　　　　The basis of international criticism of Japan over the alleged “forced transportation” of “comfort women” is the “Kono Statement,” which in turn has in large measure been propped up by the erroneous reporting of the Asahi Shimbun over the years. (In 1993 then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono stated publicly that the Japanese military had forcibly recruited Korean women into military brothels, contradicting the long-term position of the government that the military was not involved in such recruitment.)
　　　　　Despite the Asahi recently recognizing that testimony by self-proclaimed “comfort woman recruiter” Seiji Yoshida was fabricated––testimony on which much of the Kono Statement was based––there are still those in Japan who believe that the Kono Statement should be allowed to stand as is. For those who still believe this, I would like them to truly understand the degree of criticism to which Japan is being subjected in the international community.

Preposterous Testimony

　　　　　The Coomaraswamy Report adopted by the United Nations in April 1996 quoted the Kono Statement in concluding that the Japanese Army had instituted a “system of sex slavery.” The testimony of Seiji Yoshida that had been played up by the Asahi was also extensively used. The lurid descriptions found in the Coomaraswamy Report―all based on the faulty testimony of these two sources―unleashed a fury of outrage and anger towards Japan from those in the international community wishing to “address the wrongs of the past.”
　　　　　One finds statements such as follows in the Coomaraswamy Report:
　　　　　―“The girls seized from villages appear to have been very young, the majority between the ages of 14 and 18…”;
　　　　　―“Most of the girls were assigned to extremely small quarters measuring barely 91 centimeters wide and　52 centimeters long”;
　　　　　―“… (the ‘comfort women’) were expected to serve as many as 60 to 70 men per day”;
　　　　　―“The military doctors would not treat cigarette burns, stab wounds from bayonets, broken bones, or　other injuries inflicted by the soldiers”;
　　　　　―“One Korean girl…once demanded to know why they had to serve so many—up to 40—men per day. To punish her for her questioning, the Japanese company commander Yamamoto ordered her to be beaten with a sword…they (then) took off her clothes, tied her legs and hands and rolled her over a board with nails until the nails were covered with blood and pieces of her flesh. In the end, they cut off her head.”
　　　　　― The statements above were based on the testimony of Chong Oksun. She also said: “Another Japanese 　told us ‘it’s easy to kill you all, easier than killing dogs.’ He also said ‘since those Korean girls are crying because they have not eaten, boil the human flesh and make them eat it’”;
　　　　　―“One Korean girl caught a venereal disease from being raped so often and, as a result, over 50 Japanese soldiers were infected. In order to stop the disease from spreading and to ‘sterilize’ the Korean girl, they stuck a hot iron bar in her private parts”; and,
　　　　　—“I think over half of the girls who were at the garrison barracks were killed.”
　　　　　No Japanese would ever believe such preposterous testimony. These are not acts that would ever be performed by a Japanese. If we are to believe the testimony of Ms. Chong, then we must believe these acts were performed by Koreans, reflecting the influence of their Chinese neighbors who ruled over them for centuries. But such acts would absolutely never be performed by a Japanese.
　　　　　Unlike the Koreans or the Chinese, Japanese have from ancient times never tortured even the most vicious criminals in such barbaric fashion. The British travel writer Isabella Bird writes in Korea and her Neighbors (1898), “the criminal would be flogged to death in a most barbaric execution.” The missionary H.B. Hurlburt, who was a long time resident of Korea and an intimate of the Yi Court, also writes, “(In the flogging execution), a large board is used with fast and furious swings to break the legs of the criminal.”
　　　　　When the Japanese began their rule of Korea they were appalled by the gruesome nature of the methods of execution used on criminals, and sought to lessen their harshness. Ten years after Japan began its rule, in April of 1920, execution by flogging was banned. And yet the United Nations arbitrarily accuses Japan of employing such unthinkably barbaric practices on young women who were little more than children. How can we allow ourselves to be humiliated in this way?
　　　　　Still one must realize that the above quotes represent only a portion of the UN report, a report that became an introductory chapter to an anti-Japanese chorus heard throughout the English-speaking world.

The Root of All Evil

　　　　　The McDougal Report referred to earlier came out two years after the Coomaraswamy Report. It calls the stations where the “comfort women” worked “rape stations,” and also states: “most of the girls were between the ages of 11 and 20”; “they were systematically raped on a daily basis”; “under this extreme physical abuse, only 25% survived”; “these are crimes against humanity by Japan”; and finally, the report demands that those responsible be identified and prosecuted. The McDougal Report also recommended that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, with the cooperation of various nations, implement legislation to bring about such prosecutions.
　　　　　With the Kono Statement as a firm cornerstone to rely on for those wishing to promote the “comfort women” issue, and with the Asahi standing by Yoshida’s fabricated testimony over the last 32 years, we have had the worst situation possible. China and South Korea joined hands, and a campaign to defame Japan quickly picked up momentum in the US. The Kono Statement was quoted in a resolution adopted by the US House of Representatives condemning Japan. Similar resolutions were adopted by the Netherlands, Canada, and the EU. Even a senior research fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation stated that, “the forced transportation of women by the Japanese Army is a fact.”
　　　　　On August 29th it was announced that plans are underway to build a new monument to the “comfort women” in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Allying with Korean groups, the Chinese have moved to the fore in the battle against Japan over issues related to the war.
　　　　　On the same day, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its final report on the human rights violations of the “comfort women,” recommending that the Japanese government pay compensation to the “comfort women” as well as issue a sincere apology, and that legal action be taken against those responsible. There will be dire consequences if the government takes this final report lightly and once again caves in to making weak-kneed excuses. If Japan allows this report to stand, it will forever be held legally responsible by the United Nations. It is absolutely critical that the Foreign Ministry and the Bureau for Gender Equality fully understand this.
　　　　　Until the Kono Statement―an official statement by the Japanese government―is rescinded, Japan will continue to be condemned widely in the international community. No matter how many years it takes, the truth about the “comfort women” must be gotten out and the Kono Statement rescinded. It goes without saying that the Asahi, the originator of the misinformation in this case, must continue to be held responsible for its misdeeds.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column No. 621 in the September 11, 2014 issue of The Weekly Shincho)