January 27, 2016
A rally to listen to former “comfort women” serving the Japanese military took place on January 26 in the Diet building with about 300 people participating. Two elderly South Korean women said that Japan’s Prime Minister Abe Shinzo should offer a direct apology to them for their suffering caused by the Imperial Army during World War II.
This event was held by an organizing committee consisting of civic groups, including the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), the New Japan Women’s Association (Shinfujin), and the Japan Federation of Democratic Medical Institutions (Min-iren).
At the rally, Ahn Sin-kwon, the head of the “House of Sharing” in South Korea where former comfort women are living together, gave a speech. Noting that the comfort women issue is directly involved with personal human rights, Ahn said that it is deplorable that Tokyo and Seoul reached an agreement on this issue without consulting the victims.
“I’ll work to pass on the story of comfort women to the younger generation. In order not to repeat the tragic history, this issue needs to be resolved in a proper manner,” said the head.
Kang Il-chul, 87, and Yi Ok-seon, 88, both living in the House of Sharing, related their own experiences to the audience. At the age of 16, each of them was transported to “comfort stations” in China which the Japanese military ran at that time.
“I wasn’t treated as a human being there,” Kang said, showing a scar on her head caused by a Japanese soldier. She went on to say, “I want the Japanese government to honestly admit to the fact that Japan had inflicted great injury on us and apologize to us directly.”
Both of them criticized the latest deal between the two governments.
After the rally, a female student at a nursing school in Chiba Prefecture said, “I felt it is important to hand down the history of comfort women to the next generation. I want to learn more about this issue.”
A similar event is scheduled to be held in Osaka.
Past related article:
> Japan-ROK agreement on ‘comfort women’ insufficient for victims to feel ‘real freedom’ [December 30, 2015]
This event was held by an organizing committee consisting of civic groups, including the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), the New Japan Women’s Association (Shinfujin), and the Japan Federation of Democratic Medical Institutions (Min-iren).
At the rally, Ahn Sin-kwon, the head of the “House of Sharing” in South Korea where former comfort women are living together, gave a speech. Noting that the comfort women issue is directly involved with personal human rights, Ahn said that it is deplorable that Tokyo and Seoul reached an agreement on this issue without consulting the victims.
“I’ll work to pass on the story of comfort women to the younger generation. In order not to repeat the tragic history, this issue needs to be resolved in a proper manner,” said the head.
Kang Il-chul, 87, and Yi Ok-seon, 88, both living in the House of Sharing, related their own experiences to the audience. At the age of 16, each of them was transported to “comfort stations” in China which the Japanese military ran at that time.
“I wasn’t treated as a human being there,” Kang said, showing a scar on her head caused by a Japanese soldier. She went on to say, “I want the Japanese government to honestly admit to the fact that Japan had inflicted great injury on us and apologize to us directly.”
Both of them criticized the latest deal between the two governments.
After the rally, a female student at a nursing school in Chiba Prefecture said, “I felt it is important to hand down the history of comfort women to the next generation. I want to learn more about this issue.”
A similar event is scheduled to be held in Osaka.
Past related article:
> Japan-ROK agreement on ‘comfort women’ insufficient for victims to feel ‘real freedom’ [December 30, 2015]
