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NEWS - Former Taiwanese Sex Slaves
- Subject: NEWS - Former Taiwanese Sex Slaves
- From: Rangoonp@xxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 20:00:00
Subject: NEWS - Former Taiwanese Sex Slaves Sue Japanese Government
Former Taiwanese Sex Slaves Sue Japanese Government
AP
14-JUL-99
TOKYO (AP) -- Nine Taiwanese women forced to work in
brothels for Japanese soldiers during World War II sued
Japan''s government today for compensation and an
apology.
The women demanded $83,000 each in the suit filed at the
Tokyo District Court, their lawyers said.
"I want the Japanese government to restore my honor,"
said
Lu Man-mei, whose eyes filled with tears as she recounted
her experiences. "After our return to Taiwan, we couldn't
find
work or get married."
Japan maintains that all questions of compensation have
already been settled with the nations involved. But Kunio
Aitani, a lawyer for the group, said Tokyo has no postwar
treaty with Taiwan and cannot claim that the grievances
of
Taiwanese sex slaves have been satisfied.
Another plaintiff, Kao Pao-chu, described being abducted
by
Japan's military and forced into "comfort centers" -- the
euphemism for Imperial Army brothels -- in China and the
mountains of Burma, also known as Myanmar.
"I want to meet with people from the Japanese government
and at least hear them say 'I'm sorry,"' Kao said. She
also
said she spent eight years in brothels outside of Taiwan.
The case gained new attention last week with the
revelation
that several prominent Taiwanese families were
shareholders in a Japanese company that ran the wartime
brothels.
Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945 and
served as a launch pad for the Imperial Army's wartime
invasion of Southeast Asia.
Historians say as many as 200,000 women, mostly Koreans
but also Filipinos, Chinese and Dutch, were forced into
sexual slavery by the Japanese during the war.
Until 1992, the Japanese government denied that its army
was involved in establishing and running the front-line
brothels.
Tokyo set up a private foundation to issue apologies and
compensation. Most women have refused to accept the
payment, saying it is not enough.
"Japan set up the fund to evade its responsibilities,"
said
Mei-Fen Chiang, a lawyer who runs the Taipei Women's
Rescue Fund.