The women were forced to have sex with up to 50 Japanese soldiers a day as they were raped and sexually assaulted. Military brothels existed across the Asia Pacific region in areas occupied by the Japanese forces, including China, the Korean Peninsula and a large part of South-east Asia. The term 'comfort woman' comes from the Japanese euphemism 'jugun ianfu' which refers to women, of various ethnic and social circumstances, who became sex slaves for the Japanese troops before and during WWII. Korean women were forced by the Japanese to pack up and become sex slaves President Moon promised to review the unpopular agreement - arranged by his now-jailed predecessor Park Geun-Hye. Last December, Seoul expressed doubts over the 2015 deal with Japan because of an election pledge made by the new government of President Moon Jae-In. 'Acknowledging these crimes under international law, and factually recording them in histories for future generations is an important step to ensure non-repetition and end impunity for crimes of sexual violence committed during armed conflicts,' said researcher Shoji. South Korean President Moon Jae-In (right) vowed to review the agreement - arranged by his now-jailed predecessor Park Geun-Hye (left)Īccording to researcher Shoji, the 2015 bilateral agreement between Tokyo and Seoul included a provision that the South Korean government should never again raise the issue and that a Peace Monument in Seoul commemorating the survivors of the military sexual slavery system be removed. Seoul has expressed doubts over the 2015 deal. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued an apology and agreed to create a £6.7 million (1 billion yen) foundation to help provide support for the victims.Ī statement by both countries' foreign ministers said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 'expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women'. In 2015, Tokyo and Seoul agreed to settle the contentious issue through a landmark deal. The plight of the 'comfort women' is a hugely emotional issue that has for decades marred ties between Japan and its neighbours, South Korea and China. 'This standing point has negatively impacted Japan’s relation with countries with survivors of Japan’s military sexual slavery system, including South Korea and China.' 'Japan has continued to insist that any obligation to provide reparation was settled in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty and other bilateral peace treaties and arrangements. Researcher Shoji told MailOnline: 'The Japanese government has made a prolonged and determined effort to hide behind its legal position on the issue. Students hold portraits of deceased former South Korean 'comfort women' during a weekly anti-Japan rally in front of Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on December 30, 2015 Hiroka Shoji, a researcher at the Amnesty International, said the video was published at crucial timing because Japan is yet to provide full and effective reparation to any individual who has suffered harm as the direct result of its military sexual slavery system. Park Won-soon, the Mayor of Seoul, is quoted saying: 'We know all too well we shouldn't repeat this tragic history and one part of remembering it is documenting it.' 'This video shows the situation and reality Korean comfort women faced at the end of the war at a time when the Japanese government denies the killing of comfort women by Japanese troops.' Kang Sung-hyun, a professor at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul, is quoted by Korea Herald as he commented on the significance of the footage. Only 23 of them survived after the American and Chinese armies won the battle. ![]() The footage was discovered last year by a group of Korean scholars in American National Archives and Records Administration, reported Seoul-based Arirang News.Īccording to the same report, more than 70 Korean women were brought to Tengchong by the Japanese troops. In another part of the video, smoke appears to rise from a large pile of dead bodies. In the 19-second clip, a soldier, said to be Chinese, could be seen taking a sock off a naked corpse. ![]() The picture shows a young ethnic Chinese 'comfort woman' interviewed by an Allied officer in Burma in August, 1945 The Japanese army took women from Korea, China and South-east Asia and forced them into being their sex slaves.
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