Japan Press Weekly

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2014 April 2 - 8 TOP3 [POLITICS]

New evidence of forcible recruiting of comfort women found

New evidence supporting the argument asserting the Japanese military’s involvement in the so-called “comfort women” issue and the forced recruitment of women has turned up recently.

A research team headed by modern Japanese historian Hayashi Hirofumi, a professor at Kanto Gakuin University, uncovered the evidence in the National Archives of Japan.

The newly-obtained evidence also indicates that the former Japanese Imperial Army used military funds to disguise the comfort women-related facts.

The documentary evidence is concerning the Netherland’s courts-martial of Class B and C criminals at Batavia in Indonesia after the war: Trial 25 and Trial 88.

A Bali-stationed chief petty officer, who had been accused in the Case No. 25, gave testimony to the Justice Ministry in August 1962 regarding the forcible transportation of women. He said, “For about four years during the war, I took as many as 200 women into Bali as comfort women on orders from the Okuyama Unit.”

He also revealed the fact that he had made an effort to silence dissent by local islanders. He said, “After the end of the war, I negotiated with the Japanese military’s Supply and Facilities Departments to provide about 700,000 yen to cover up the fact. I used the money to win local residents over (to our side) through the influence of each village head. This worked very well. Nobody mentioned the existence of the comfort station, our biggest concern.”

The professor’s team also found testimony of a merchant who had operated a “comfort station” in Bali. This man said in the testimony, “The women were crying when entering the comfort station after getting out of the car,” and “Their clothes were ripped because they were dragged out of the car one by one (by the accused).”

In the Case No. 88, a victim testified, “I was arrested on suspicion of being pro-United States and was taken to a comfort station at Bondowoso. I was told to choose between the two: stay there forever or live with a Japanese man.” Another victim said, “I was arrested and was carted off to a hotel in Bondowoso, the comfort station. A military police officer took me as his mistress.”

Past related articles:
> Much evidence shows Japanese state’s involvement in ‘comfort women’ system [June 27, 201]
> New evidence showing ex-Army’s involvement in ‘comfort women’ unearthed [June 23, 2013]
> Evidence of ‘comfort women’ coercion exists: Gov’t admits [June 19, 2013]