KappNets2 comments

"Taiwanese harbor against the Japanese for WWII is just as strong as mainland China and SK."

I can understand that. Japan deserves that. However, at least diplomatically, Taiwan acts like other Asian countries adopting a forgiving attitude.

The comparison between Japan and Germany seems too simplistic. Simply put, the war in Europe was fought among the white people. The war in Asia had a flavor of white colonialism, backwardness and the difference in national character. This is reflected in the attitude of Asian countries against Japan after the war. Some Asian countries tend to view Japan more as a liberator than an aggressor. Taiwanese view Japan more enlightened than the continental Chinese who invaded Taiwan after WWII, and they do not hate Japan as South Koreans do. Vietnam was savaged in the war with US and SKorea but does not complain, does not demand compensation. Do not forget that Japan has faithfully compensated the countries for the loss in the war as far as the money is concerned.

Simply put, there are only two remaining countries (China and SKorea) that view Japan as a vicious aggressor and harass Japan about its "misdemeanor." The denunciation of Japan is not only part of their education but also movie films. Today, typical Japanese people feel that apology is not the solution.

I do not necessarily clap hands for Abe's visit of the shrine, but I cannot accuse him in light of the importunacy of the two countries.

The wars Japan has fought are viewed by many Japanese more as the (possibly defiant) steps of upgrowth to catch up western nations ('the worries of youth?'). This is a notion even the white people could and should understand. Yasukuni is part of legacy for them. It is a symbol of unity (even though many Japanese died by the name of Emperor) rather than a symbol of evil as believed abroad.

toshiko

nigelboy

These two are good points. The discussion should start from here.

I admit that the tactics of the U.S. (using local brothels in other countries) appears politically much smarter than the counterpart of Japan (comfort women system recruiting women from foreign countries).

Then: Is the use of local brothels in "other countries" an ethically ideal system? assuming that they recruit women from foreign countries? assuming that the U.S. commanders pressured (in the back) the countries, which were in a vulnerable position, to set up the brothels?

Note: Assume that your answer to Mayor Hashimoto. Since his comments are often mistranslated, stick to the above point.

Note: From the well-known fact that the U.S. soldiers openly used Japanese prostitutes after WWII, I do not believe in the "prohibition" as you claim (at least around that time).

nigelboy

You should realize that prostitution is born from poverty. In my opinion: Prostitutes are hired by private companies, and it is very likely that, in the contract, they could borrow money for their families (fathers & mothers) to live on. They could earn money depending on the number of men they accepted, and be released from the "job" if certain conditions are met.

bannedacctsam

You are utterly wrong; more exactly, you are distorting the facts. Mayor Hashimoto is simply trying to compare the Japanese system during WWII and the counterpart of the U.S. for the soldiers who want girls. Prostitution is basically nothing to do with sexual assault.

chucky3176

You are missing the point. It is known that as a general rule, the (Korean, Japanese, Chinese,...) women were paid by the Japanese soldiers, too. (The only problem with them was that they could not freely choose from the customers coming in flocks. In other words, the quality of labor was low.)

Mayor Hashimoto's point was that you must admit that the U.S. soldiers needed women as the Japanese soldiers needed women and the commanders asked Japan (almost officially) to set up brothels.

One of the misunderstanding on the part of you Americans is that they/you are unaware that, after WWII, the American government (exactly, the American base commander) asked Japanese government/officials to set up prostitution centers using Japanese women.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/23/opinion/l-japanese-didn-t-invent-military-sex-industry-354592.html

Of course, "the American base commander" did this in the back (just as the Japanese army DID NOT OFFICIALLY COERCE Korean girls into prostitution). Mayer Hashimoto wants us to discuss the involvement of American official in setting up a brothel. Isn't it unfair if you simply insist that what the U.S. commander did was the right thing and the Japanese army did the wrong thing? To some, it seems that both Japanese and American commanders did the same thing: getting girls for their soldiers by technically unofficial means but by using official pressure.

Lowly:

You are misinformed. (This is not to justify what Japan did, but it would be important to eliminate misunderstandings.)

"Kidnapping" must by definition include the use of "force" while the evidences show that the girls were simply seduced into prostitution by "private" traders; the true reason for prostitution is always poverty (Koreans during the war or Japanese after the war).

The expression "raping them over and over by 10s and 100s of men for months and years" may be figuratively close to truth but not exactly true because "raping" does not usually involve payment . Each Japanese soldier were told to pay (generously?) in the brothel. There were Army medics.

Mayor Hashimoto's remark is offensive but not outrageous because many Japanese share the same question.

Why doesn't the U.S. military regret the fact that the American base commander made efforts to make Japan build whorehouses or "Japanese had to build whorehouses for the occupying forces as to protect the majority of Japanese women"? Many Japanese will be satisfied if this question is satisfactorily answered.

Take a look at the NYTimes article "Japanese Didn't Invent Military," published Feb. 23, 1992 (written by a Japanese-American woman). "A former Navy chaplain who served in Japan during the post-World War II occupation told her that when he protested the American base commander's efforts to set up prostitution centers using Japanese women, he was reassigned stateside." Many Madame Butterflies were abused by Pincartons. (Note: "Madam Butterfly" is an operatic story of a woman who was abused by a visiting U.S. military.)

Japan's complaint against endless Japan-bashing from Korea, China, and the U.S. for "comfort women" has long persisted; many ordinary people share the complaint bluntly expressed by Hashimoto. Please let Japan forget the cruel history after San Francisco Peace Treaty and Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and Republic of Korea.