The Comfort Women

The Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe shamelessly denied that Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Dutch women and women from a few other countries were forced into sexual slavery during World War II by the Japanese army. He claimed the women offered their sexual services willingly to Japanese soldiers. (Washington Post: Prime Minister Denies Women Were Forced Into WWII Brothels)

To say this is at least as criminal as denying that the Holocaust ever took place. But while Holocaust deniers are facing prison terms, the Japanese prime minister will still be received around the world as a respected statesman.

There can be no doubt about what took place during the Second World War. Young girls were kidnapped by Japanese soldiers and forced to work in brothels to “comfort” the Japanese aggressor troops. They were raped tens of times a day on the orders of the Japanese government. Abe says there is “no evidence”. The story of those estimated 200,000 women is told in “The Comfort Women: Japan's Brutal Regime of Enforced Prostitution in the Second World War” by George Hicks. Abe should perhaps read the book, instead of repeating the words of Japanese fascists.

In 1993, then Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono apologized to the victims and even former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi repeated the apology. Now Shinzo Abe is again denying that it took place.

If those comfort women were really “professional prostitutes”, they could certainly have found better paying and less cruel customers than the Japan's sadistic soldiers. Abe's denial is ridiculous and criminal. He should be forced to resign. Denying that comfort women existed and were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese government shows that Japan is trying to become once more an imperialist aggressor. This is a threat to international peace and security, therefore the United Nations Security Council should act to force the Japanese government to behave. Since Japan is a ally of the U.S., of course this won't happen...