Peipei Qiu
peqiu@vassar.edu
Vassar College

Received January 8, 2017; Revised version received February 13, 2017; Accepted March 02, 2017

Abstract

Imperial Japan’s “comfort women” system was one of the major atrocities against humanity during the Asia-Pacific war (1931-1945), yet denial of this war crime remains steadfast in Japan today. This paper introduces and discusses the personal accounts of Korean and Chinese “comfort women” which hitherto were unavailable to English readers. It demonstrates, through the testimonies of the survivors and eyewitnesses, the close correlation between the proliferation of the military comfort stations and the progression of Japan’s aggressive war. The lived experiences of the “comfort women” reveal undeniably that the “comfort women” system was created for the war and made possible by the war. The survivors’ narratives highlight that in today’s world when sexual violence continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflicts that prevents societies from achieving sustainable peace, the comfort women’s memories constitute a legacy of global significance.

Key Words : “Comfort Women”, War crime, Slavery, Sexual violence, Memory study, Oral history, World War II