History is often very sentimental and objective at the same time. Because of these two views of history, political management and learning from past mistakes is difficult. The second World War is a perfect example of history affecting current political environments. As devastating and impactful as WWII was, the lessons can still be misinterpreted. The memories of World War II are often preserved, erased and altered. One example of historical alteration is taking place within Japan.
The Japanese empire’s dominant expansion in the early twentieth century across Asia came with great costs. Its dominance was hardly good willed imperialism with the intention of moving Asian countries towards modernization. One of its most controversial crimes committed during the war is being purposely altered under the regime of Prime Minster Shinzo Abe today. This crime is that of the Japanese use of “comfort women.”
Hillary Clinton famously referred to these women as ‘enforced sex slaves.’ Many women from the conquered areas were subjected to forced sexual slavery for soldiers. Rape of women is no longer an unfamiliar topic during war and invasions. For example, many German women in Berlin during the Soviet takeover were raped.
According to The New York Times, the formation of brothels in the army was uncontroversial to Japanese tradition at the time. In 1942, Japan’s Imperial Navy lieutenant paymaster Yasuhiro Nakasone organized a military brothel, or “comfort station” in order to discourage sexual misconduct, gambling and fighting among soldiers. Across Asia, from Vietnam to Burma, women were considered to be the first reward of conquest for soldiers. These atrocious acts were apparently not considered criminal as Mr. Nakasone served as prime minster of Japan from 1982 to 1987.
Under the new regime of Prime minster Abe, these stories are being slowly fabricated. Back in 2007, the cabinet undermined the Kono Statement, a formal apology for the front-line encampments that provided sex for the military made by prime minster Yohei Kono in 1993. The regime denied the statement for lacking documentary evidence of coercion in the acquisition of women for the military’s comfort stations.
However, there is enough evidence to verify the existence of these houses during the war. In October, Mr. Abe directed his government to “step up a strategic campaign of international opinion so that Japan can receive a fair appraisal based on matters of objective fact.”
The Japanese government even went as far as to send an officer two weeks later to New York to convince former UN special rapporteur on violence against women, Radhika Commaraswamy, to revise her accusation regarding the Japanese army’s violence against women during the war. However she refused to revise her 1996 statement which stated, “the consistency of the accounts of women from quite different parts of Southeast Asia of the manner in which they were recruited and the clear involvement of the military and government at different levels is indisputable.”
The testimonies of sexual violence by the Japanese soldiers are large in number, from Southeast Asian women to Pacific Islanders to an American nurse. The stories from different people all tell that the Japanese committed war crimes against many women. However, the Japanese government’s attempts to hide these accusations continue to grow as the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, vowed to continue to advocate international bodies to remove the designation of comfort women as sex slaves.
The major reason why the Japanese government is increasingly attempting to hide its violent past is due to the fact that ever since the end of the war, Japan’s goverment has been made largely from participants in the war. They continue to hold on to the power today because they accumulated wealth and high education as elite groups. Because of this, the quest for the truth has become very difficult. Today, Japanese people are taught history absent of its atrocious past.
There are so many memories that remain hidden. For example, we know Winston Churchill as one of the leaders who saved Europe from the evils of Hitler, but did you know he was also responsible for ordering the genocide on Kurds who resisted British occupation or starving thousands of Indians? History is not there to judge bad or good in extremely segregated fashions, I believe, because it is full of contradictions.
In the case of Japan, it has a long way to go toward a more conscientious decision in coming up with a way to educate its citizens about the past in a more honest fashion. Despite being good or bad, history remains history. How should we deal with such contradictions? We shall not judge but think of an answer that is combined of both faults and righteousness andonly then should we be able to think of true progress.
Hae Rin Lee is a freshman columnist for The Daily Cardinal. Tell us how you feel and please send your feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
