In three out of the four cases in which the courts have reached judgement, the comfort women's claims were dismissed on the grounds that it was official policy not to prosecute on the basis of sexual slavery.
Matsui said interviews conducted by VAWW-Net Japan showed that about two-thirds of interviewed Japanese veterans think "comfort stations" were necessary and they have little or no sense of guilt for the victimized women. Nor do they realize that sexual slavery is a serious crime against women, she said.
It was because of this that women's organizations in the countries of victims decided to stand together and take action, Matsui said.
"Though we don't have the legal powers to punish those found responsible, we hope to clearly establish that the system of military sexual slavery conducted by the Japanese Imperial Army constitutes a war crime. Above all, we want to reconstruct a complete history from the perspective of women."
Matsui said it was imperative that the comfort women system was seen as criminal, because a growing right wing force in Japan was campaigning to convince Japan's younger generation that WWII military sexual slavery was not a war crime, but rather "legitimate" prostitution.
Before and after the Nuremberg Trial, the German government interrogated more than 100,000 war criminals, of which more than 6,000 were convicted and either executed or jailed.
Matsui said what the German government has done is in sharp contrast to the immunity of war criminals in Japan. She said government officials who were negligent in prosecuting sexual slavery offenders were, in essence, as condemnable as the offenders.
"In the future, what the women's tribunal will try to do is not only bring wartime sexual slavery offenders to justice, but also clarify the liability of states which are negligent in prosecuting war criminals and compensating victims in the post-war era," she said.
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