The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery

[Sukotto]

I was just forwarded this info.
I only posted some of the stuff from the link,
but co-sponsors and organizations affiliated
with this conference are wide-spread, not limited
to NE Asia, and a decent number are native to Japan.



http://jmss.info/about.html

About the World Conference
What: The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery
When: October 4–7, 2007
Where: University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA



Objectives:

1. Increase public awareness about the comfort women issue, building on the Honda Resolution (H.R. 121), through U.S. and global media coverage of the World Conference.
1. Create a global coalition around Japanese Military Sexual Slavery as an issue symbolizing the need for global peace, social justice, and human rights amongst scholars, lawyers, experts, artists, governments, NGOs.
1. Compile educational materials, including publications, documentaries, and textbooks that accurately depict the "comfort system."
1. Educate students about the "comfort women" issue, war crimes against women, and impress upon them the importance of peace, social justice, and human rights.
1. Draft a "Human Rights Declaration for the Japanese Military Sexual Slaves."
1. Increase the participation of civil society to pressure the Japanese government to offer official apology and proper reparation, as well as meet the other demands of the victims.


Significance:

1. Despite recommendations by the UN Human Rights Committee, ILO Expert Committee, Amnesty International, and International Commission on Jurists, the Japanese government has offered neither an official apology for the "Comfort System," nor provided reparations to the victims. It has been 62 years since the end of WWII, 61 years since the Far East Military Tribunal, and 7 years since the Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery.

1. In the United States, there is increasing awareness and interest in the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Japanese military sexual slaves. For example, Congressman Michael Honda's "Comfort Women" Resolution (H.R. 121), which is sponsored by 152 representatives, brings the issue of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery to the center of U.S. policy, and it recognizes that Japan's crimes are not just as an old problem between Japan and Korea, or even just in Asia, but it is important for global human rights and peace.


Did you know . . .

The seven demands by the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery include:
(1) Japan must admit that it forced women to serve as sexual slaves;
(2) War crimes committed against “comfort women” must be investigated;
(3) The Japanese Diet should issue an official apology;
(4) Restitution should be made to the survivors and their families;
(5) Japanese textbooks should accurately reflect the history of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during WWII;
(6) A memorial and museum should be built to commemorate the victims; and
(7) Perpetrators must be punished.


More Information:
Gay McDougal, a former U.N. Special Rapporteur, once said, “Through truth and justice comes reconciliation and healing, and where there is healing for the past, there is hope for the future.” Through the World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery, we hope to heal the wounds of victims and create a coalition of those committed to social justice, equality and human rights. Please join this historical event.

see above link

[SushiShin]

Thanks for Sharing the information with us. i'll check the link.

[pipokun]

1. Increase public awareness about the comfort women issue, building on the Honda Resolution (H.R. 121), through U.S. and global media coverage of the World

Hopefully, you should mention that it was just 10 members who voted the resolution.
And if possible, just add the address of this site, jref.com, in your mail. I think this site should have more players.

[hplaserjet6p]

6) memorial museum? where? in korea?

[GodEmperorLeto]

Originally Posted by Sukotto

1. Educate students about the "comfort women" issue, war crimes against women, and impress upon them the importance of peace, social justice, and human rights.

Honestly, this takes a backseat, in general, to things like Nanking in most history courses in colleges and especially in high school, where the Holocaust gets a lot of attention. My only objection is simply this: if we teach this, what are we going to have to omit/truncate during your typical history class?

1. Draft a "Human Rights Declaration for the Japanese Military Sexual Slaves."

Ummm, redundant. There is already a Declaration of Human Rights, if I am correct, and it covers this sort of thing.

1. Increase the participation of civil society to pressure the Japanese government to offer official apology and proper reparation, as well as meet the other demands of the victims.

I must ask this question... Is it any of our business? Or is it simply between Korea and Japan? This is an honest question, not a rhetorical one. Personally, I'm on the fence about this. I'm not sure if Americans or anyone else has a right to wag a finger at Japan on this issue, especially considering all of the nice and kind things Americans and Europeans did to all the other peoples of the world during the 15-19th centuries.

Significance:
...
1. In the United States, there is increasing awareness and interest in the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Japanese military sexual slaves. For example, Congressman Michael Honda's "Comfort Women" Resolution (H.R. 121), which is sponsored by 152 representatives, brings the issue of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery to the center of U.S. policy, and it recognizes that Japan's crimes are not just as an old problem between Japan and Korea, or even just in Asia, but it is important for global human rights and peace.

And what are we going to do about it? Claim to have found "weapons of mass destruction" in Japan and invade if they don't own up to it? This, in my opinion, is a paper tiger.

Did you know . . .
The seven demands by the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery include:
(1) Japan must admit that it forced women to serve as sexual slaves;
(2) War crimes committed against “comfort women” must be investigated;
(3) The Japanese Diet should issue an official apology;
(4) Restitution should be made to the survivors and their families;
(5) Japanese textbooks should accurately reflect the history of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during WWII;
(6) A memorial and museum should be built to commemorate the victims; and
(7) Perpetrators must be punished.

Again, just a quick play of Devil's Advocate here... has the U.S. issued any sort of apologies for the firebombings and atomic bombs?

Granted, many Americans, including myself, believe these acts were justified:

He wished to destroy completely the material and psychological capital of the Japanese people, on the brutal theory that once civilians had tasted what their soldiers had done to others, only then might their murderous armies crack. Advocacy for a savage militarism from the rear...might dissipate when one's house was in flames. People would not show up to work to fabricate artillery shells that killed Americans when there was no work to show up to. Soldiers who kill, rape, and torture do so less confidently when their own families are at risk at home.
--Victor Davis Hanson
The Soul of Battle, pp. 2

However, in this same chapter, Hanson mentions that these actions (the firebombings) by Curtis LeMay's bombing campaign were war crimes, despite the fact that they shortened the war and, in Hanson's opinion, saved lives in the long run (which is, yes, debatable). However, in a situation of total war, can it not be justified that, just as the Americans were fighting to break the very spirit of the Japanese people, were the Japanese fighting to break the spirit of the Korean people? Is sexual slavery worse than faceless firebombing? Or is the sexual slavery unjustified while the bombing is? If so, why?

Because of what we did to win the war (i.e. the United States of America), I don't necessarily think we ought to wag our fingers at Japan. Some of you might scream, "You hypocrite, GEL! You think that the American actions were justified!" Yes, I do, and I don't think that the Japanese's actions were, but I still think that with the war's end, and the tribunals carried out, the U.S. has basically done all that it should to castigate Japan, and we should now mind our own business when it comes to their affairs. The war has been over for 60-some-odd years. It is time to bury the hatchet.

I'm not asking rhetorical questions, but actually asking for opinions here.

[Sukotto]

Originally Posted by GodEmperorLeto

Honestly, this takes a backseat, in general, to things like Nanking in most history courses in colleges and especially in high school, where the Holocaust gets a lot of attention. My only objection is simply this: if we teach this, what are we going to have to omit/truncate during your typical history class?
Ummm, redundant. There is already a Declaration of Human Rights, if I am correct, and it covers this sort of thing.
I must ask this question... Is it any of our business? Or is it simply between Korea and Japan? This is an honest question, not a rhetorical one. Personally, I'm on the fence about this. I'm not sure if Americans or anyone else has a right to wag a finger at Japan on this issue, especially considering all of the nice and kind things Americans and Europeans did to all the other peoples of the world during the 15-19th centuries.
And what are we going to do about it? Claim to have found "weapons of mass destruction" in Japan and invade if they don't own up to it? This, in my opinion, is a paper tiger.
Again, just a quick play of Devil's Advocate here... has the U.S. issued any sort of apologies for the firebombings and atomic bombs?
Granted, many Americans, including myself, believe these acts were justified:
However, in this same chapter, Hanson mentions that these actions (the firebombings) by Curtis LeMay's bombing campaign were war crimes, despite the fact that they shortened the war and, in Hanson's opinion, saved lives in the long run (which is, yes, debatable). However, in a situation of total war, can it not be justified that, just as the Americans were fighting to break the very spirit of the Japanese people, were the Japanese fighting to break the spirit of the Korean people? Is sexual slavery worse than faceless firebombing? Or is the sexual slavery unjustified while the bombing is? If so, why?
Because of what we did to win the war (i.e. the United States of America), I don't necessarily think we ought to wag our fingers at Japan. Some of you might scream, "You hypocrite, GEL! You think that the American actions were justified!" Yes, I do, and I don't think that the Japanese's actions were, but I still think that with the war's end, and the tribunals carried out, the U.S. has basically done all that it should to castigate Japan, and we should now mind our own business when it comes to their affairs. The war has been over for 60-some-odd years. It is time to bury the hatchet.
I'm not asking rhetorical questions, but actually asking for opinions here.

Korea and Japan are not the only countries involved, I believe, not by a long shot. Here is
Sexual Violence Against East Timorese Women During the Japanese Occupation , to just list one.

It's just as important as the Rape of Nanking or other such items of the anti-fascist war of the 40s, aka WW2.

It's not like the US gov't is the instigator in bringing these issues up.
Numerous NGOs; human rights and women's groups have worked on these issue for years because they have never really been throughly addressed.
It's not a US vs Japan issue.
I don't know why someone would bring that up.
The conference above isn't sponsored by the US government, but by NGOs galor.

Personally, I wouldn't call sexual slavery or firebombing worse than the other.
Both are horrible crimes; in their context war crimes.
It was just a few years ago that rape was finally recognized as a war crime.
Took the "modern" world long enough, wouldn't you say?
And I agree, the A-bombs were a war crime and crime against humanity.
If anyone ever uses them again, in any form, the world will never, ever, ever, ever, ever forgive them. Ever.

[Elizabeth van Kampen]

Sexual violence during WWII was a war crime.
I can't even imagine how all those poor women must have felt while they were raped.
I suppose that it gives one many feeling at once; disgust,fear, desolation, tendency to vomit, a.s.o.

Those men who lowered themselves to rape innocent girls and very young women in war time, just because they were the conquerors, behaved like apes.

[pipokun]

Originally Posted by Sukotto

...
It was just a few years ago that rape was finally recognized as a war crime.
Took the "modern" world long enough, wouldn't you say?
And I agree, the A-bombs were a war crime and crime against humanity.
If anyone ever uses them again, in any form, the world will never, ever, ever, ever, ever forgive them. Ever.

It was a war crime then. Elizabeth van Kampen surely knows some Japanese soldiers were persecuted in Idonesia, right?

What about the military brothels by the US during WWII?
What about the ones in the Korean and Vietnam war?
What about the soldiers who raped and killed Iraqi women? Were the guy sentenced 100 years in a war criminal trial? I think it was just in a military tribunal.
Japan will soon join the International Criminal Court (a bit too late, though), but what about your country?