Japan Press Weekly

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2013 July 31 - August 13 [HISTORY]

Citizens rally to create UN day to remember sufferings of ‘comfort women’

As part of a campaign urging the United Nations to recognize the day the first Korean victim of Japanese military sex slavery came forward publicly as its memorial day, a rally to hear testimonies from former “comfort women” took place in Tokyo on August 11.

The rally was organized by activists of the campaign and 400 people participated.

The target for the campaign is for the UN to designate as a memorial day August 14, when Kim Haksoon, victim of the Japanese Imperial Army’s sex slavery system, came forward in South Korea with a public statement in 1991.

At the rally, an 83-year-old Philippine victim, Estelita B. Dy testified that when she was 14 years old, she was taken away to a Japanese military base and repeatedly raped by Japanese soldiers. It was not until 50 years after the war’s end that she was able to talk about her sufferings for the first time.

Richilda Extremadura, president of Lila Pilipina which provides support to the Philippine comfort women victims, asked for the support and cooperation of Japanese people in resolving the comfort women issues.

At a symposium session in the rally, panelists, including former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN Anwarul K. Choudhury, called on the participants to unite to work to eliminate sexual war crimes like the Japanese military sex slavery system.