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'Comfort women' must be defended

The Japanese government recently announced that its Asian Women's Fund would complete its historic mission by March 31, and that by May it would wrap up awarding compensation to South Korean and Taiwanese women forced into prostitution for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Back in 1995, as voices around the world began to call for Japan to address the issue of "comfort women," the government decided to establish the fund as a private organization. To prevent the Japanese government from having to own up to its responsibility for provoking war in the Pacific and offer an official apology, the foundation traveled across Asia and began offering victims ?2 million (US$17,150) apiece in compensation.

Not a single Taiwanese woman accepted the money, however. Instead, they said they would only accept a formal apology and financial compensation from the Japanese government.

The program will come to a close without the Japanese government having fully apologized to its victims and with only 188 comfort women accepting the money. While answering questions during a press conference on March 1, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that evidence that Japanese troops had forced Asian women into prostitution during World War II was lacking.

The Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation says that the Japanese government is unwilling to apologize for the country's terrible acts during the war. All its efforts, the group says, are aimed at denying the historical fact that it invaded Asian countries, smoothing over Japanese history and clearing a path toward its goal of returning to militarism.

Abe's comments provoked a fierce response from the international community, as governments around the world expressed their displeasure. Spokespeople for the Japanese government tried to downplay the incident, but Abe's comments were no mere slip of the tongue. Since becoming prime minister last Sept. 26, members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have repeatedly attacked former chief Cabinet secretary Yohei Kono for accepting a report in 1993 detailing the existence of comfort women.

Last October, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shimomura Hakubun said it was necessary to revise what Yohei had said. A group of members of parliament called the "Committee on Considering Japan's Future and History Education" says that the comfort women were never coerced by the Japanese military and has asked that the government issue a new statement that eliminates their description as military attendants.

The US Congress has adopted, on four occasions, resolutions on comfort women. On Jan. 31, Michael Honda, a Japanese-American congressman from California, proposed yet another. In addition to demanding that the Japanese government admit its criminal behavior in keeping comfort women during World War II, teach this historical fact to present and future generations and publicly declare that it will never commit such a crime again, Honda's proposed resolution adds that the Japanese prime minister should, as the head of state, offer an official apology.

This sparked a public relations offensive from the Abe administration both in Japan and abroad, as it said that this resolution amounted to interference in Japan's internal affairs. The LDP also denied that the existence of comfort women was an "objective fact."

The LDP's refusal to recognize the truth about comfort women is part of the plan by right-wing officials to engage in historical revisionism and to deny the role played by Japan in World War II.

Many private groups began to seek justice for comfort women in the 1990s. In January, during a meeting of Asian countries seeking reparations, the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation joined representatives from Asia, the US and the Netherlands in jointly petitioning US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fight in the name of justice for comfort women.

When a Japanese prime minister establishes a private foundation so as to avoid having to own up to the government's responsibility for comfort women, make an apology and offer compensation, an angry response from the victims in Taiwan should be expected. And Taiwanese authorities should not remain silent.

Originally, Taiwan counted 58 comfort women who survived the war. Only 27 are left. For these women, the establishment of the Asian Women's Fund and Abe's words are tantamount to a second injustice by denying the suffering that they endured all those years.

Japan is still unwilling to admit its wartime responsibility and offer compensation, but despite their advancing age and deteriorating health, these women remain resolute in their convictions. The Taiwanese government should condemn the Japanese government's attitude and demand an official apology and appropriate compensation for the victims.

Chou Ching-yuan is a researcher at the Women's Rescue Foundation of Taipei.

Translated by Marc Langer
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