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Editorial & Opinion 

      EDITORIAL: Sex slaves
      remain to haunt
      Japan-Asia ties

      AUGUST in Japan is a season to reflect on
      both peace and war as the nation re-visits
      the tumultuous events that took place more
      than 50 years ago. Last week, Japanese
      from all walks of life commemorated the
      atomic bombings of Hiroshima (Aug 6) and
      Nagasaki (Aug 9). 

      This Saturday (Aug 15) -- which marks the
      end of World War II 53 years ago -- many
      Japanese, including a procession of
      government ministers, will visit Tokyo's
      Yasukuni Shrine to pay respect to the war
      dead, which incidentally include 14
      executed war criminals. 

      For anti-nuclear activists everywhere,
      Hiroshima and Nagasaki are humankind's
      most enduring symbols of peace. Yasukuni
      Shrine, however, is revered as a sacred
      religious entity by those who denied Japan
      was wrong in letting loose its Imperial Army
      on the Asian heartland. 

      So it's not all surprising that Yomiuri
      Shimbun, Japan's best-selling newspaper,
      wrote a scathing editorial this week
      lambasting the United Nations human rights
      sub-committee for recommending that
      those responsible for wartime brothels be
      punished, and compensation be paid to the
      former sex slaves. 

      The editorial asked why the UN singled out
      Japan for investigation for crimes
      committed more than half a century ago. It
      also blamed the media and NGOs for
      giving credence to ''stories'' on Japan's
      wartime conduct which was concocted by
      various ''chartalans''. 

      This is not the first time that mainstream
      Japan denies evidence of wartime
      atrocities. Nor will it be the last. Only last
      week, new Agriculture Minister Shoichi
      Nakagawa argued that perhaps the
      ''comfort women'' were not forced into
      sexual servitude after all. Though he
      retracted his comments later, Nakagawa
      nevertheless joined a string of other
      ministers who defied mounting evidence of
      Japan's wartime barbarity. 

      Historians say as many as 200,000 Asian
      women were abducted for front line brothels
      to serve as ''comfort women''. The term
      ''comfort women'' -- an euphemism for sex
      slaves -- exemplifies the refined subtlety of
      the Japanese language. In addition to jugun
      ianfu san (military comfort girls), the women
      were variably referred to as tetshintai
      (women volunteers) or niku-itchi (21 to 1) --
      apparently the number of men one women
      was expected to serve each day. 

      Whatever they were called, the sex slaves
      remain one of the dark legacies of the war
      which Japan prefers to keep hidden. Many
      of the women were killed by Japanese
      soldiers as they retreated during the dying
      stages of the war. The remaining few were
      shunned by their own families. Some
      changed their names and led a secret life. It
      wasn't until 1991 that South Korean Kim
      Hak Sun, then 74, braving shame and
      humiliation, openly identified herself as a
      former sex slave. Her courage broke the
      wall of silence -- many other former sex
      slaves came forward and some sought
      compensation in Japanese courts. 

      Tokyo's reaction to this was predictable. It
      first denied their existence, and when that
      position became untenable, it conceded
      that while there were indeed ''comfort
      women'', there was no government
      involvement in recruiting them. However,
      confronted with the preponderance of
      incriminating evidence, it has since
      admitted that the War Department played
      an active role in running wartime brothels,
      but claimed there is no evidence that the
      ''comfort women'' were taken by force. 

      Eventually, Japan did pay some assistance
      to the former sex slaves through a
      privately-funded body, but this was shunned
      by many of the women for they said it allows
      Tokyo to avoid taking full responsibility for
      such grisly acts of inhumanity. 

      Next month, China's President Jiang Zemin
      will embark on a landmark visit to Japan.
      His trip will surely be accompanied by
      stringent calls for Tokyo to apologise for its
      brutal invasion of the mainland. Indeed,
      such demands had been made many times
      before. Some, like Yomiuri Shimbun, feel
      that it's unfair for Japan to be targeted for
      criticism. After all, Japan was a former
      colonial power among many, and did what
      other powers have done. They are quite
      right. 

      But if Japan were to honestly admit its
      wartime atrocities, perhaps Asians would
      be more willing to forgive, if not forget.
      Otherwise, the demand for Japan to atone
      for past wrongs will continue, even after the
      victims of the Imperial Army have long
      departed from this world. Worse still, it will
      remain to haunt the ties between Japan and
      its Asian neighbours. 

      The Nation