Japan Press Weekly

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2019 July 10 - 16 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

People in their 20s in event discuss issue of wartime military comfort women

People in their 20s on July 14 took part in an event to talk about the issue of Japan's wartime sex slavery system, pondering how they should face up to and comprehend the so-called Japanese military comfort women issue.

The event took place as part of a photo exhibition in Tokyo held to remember Song Sin-do, a former Korean comfort woman who had been accusing the Japanese government of implementing the comfort women system.

The participating young people are the generation that do not know about the comfort women issue because the term "comfort women" was deleted from history textbooks when they were junior or senior high school students.

Chung Woohi, a 25-year-old third generation Korean resident, said, "Japan today has become a society where it is difficult to feel empathy for another's pain. So, it's important for us to not lose the memories of pain."

Ishida Ryota, a 20-year-old student at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, said, "I think that being indifferent to politics or not going to vote despite having misgivings about the present state of politics leads to lending a hand to historical revisionism."

Abe Ayana, 27, a company employee, said, "For me, to learn lessons from history is important and I believe there is no history that should be forgotten."

Keio University student Tani Koyo, 22, said, "In Japan, Japanese people make up the overwhelming majority of the populace. So, I can live without being asked about my nationality or ethnicity and I think we, the majority, should amplify the voices of victims."

Past related articles:
> Court prohibits rightist group from disrupting screening of film on ‘comfort women’ [December 8, 2018]
> Restoration of victims’ honor and human dignity will lead to true settlement of the ‘comfort women’ issue: JCP [November 22, 2018]