Japanese Scholars’ Reply to the American Scholars’ Comfort Women Statement: In search of a constructive dialogue based upon facts

August 6, 2015

On May 5th, 2015, one hundred and eighty-seven American-based researchers of Japan issued a statement on the comfort women issue titled, “Open letter in support of historians in Japan” (hereafter, “American scholars’ statement”). It is our understanding that, subsequently, the number of signers increased to some four hundred and sixty people. In response to the challenge proposed by the American scholars’ statement, we Japanese scholars respond with the following views.

<1> Complete agreement that events should be viewed in their historical context, and weighed carefully in the balance

We were struck by this passage from the American scholars’ statement:

We are sympathetic to this suggestion, which we believe to be an important, fundamental principle of historical research. It is cause for celebration that researchers in both Japan and the United States are in agreement on this point.

That we are attempting a response here is due to our having detected, in the American scholars’ statement, a willingness to deal constructively with historical facts that has previously been lacking in American debate on the comfort women issue.

<2> Who are the “historians in Japan”?

The above-mentioned agreement on a fundamental principle of historical inquiry notwithstanding, there remain aspects of the American scholars’ statement that we find puzzling, or that cause us to harbor grave intellectual reservations.

The American scholars’ statement is titled, “Open Letter in Support of Historians in Japan,” and begins:

It is unclear, however, whom the American scholars mean here by “historians in Japan.” Academic freedom is guaranteed in Japan, which means that there exists a broad diversity of scholars and researchers. According to the explanation provided by the American scholars who compiled the statement, they were influenced by a statement issued in December of 2014 by the Historical Science Society of Japan (Rekishigaku Kenkyūkai, commonly abbreviated as “Rekiken”).

This Rekiken statement includes this assertion: “The forced abduction of comfort women is a fact. Comfort women were sex slaves.” It would seem that this assertion is almost completely different from the current American scholars’ statement, which includes neither the phrase “forced abduction of comfort women,” nor the phrase, “sex slaves.”

Furthermore, Rekiken is a Marxist organization that has opposed the Japanese-American Security Treaty. (See link for their April 1st, 2013 statement. http://rekiken.jp/appeals/appeal20130401.html) Were the American scholars aware of these positions when they signed their May, 2015 open letter?

<3> History must not be used for political purposes

In the American scholars’ statement, Japan’s “comfort women” system is understood to be “one of the most divisive issues” of historical interpretation. The American scholars write:

We wish to ask the American scholars whether they are seeking unanimity of historical interpretation between the United States and Japan. We ask this because we believe it impossible to achieve unanimity of historical interpretation among differing nations and peoples when that interpretation goes beyond the level of historical fact. This impossibility is self-evident when one considers, for example, the differing historical interpretations of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki between America and Japan.

We affirm the American scholars’ statement when it points out the problem of Korean and Chinese nationalistic rhetoric. We, too, oppose nationalistic rhetoric without basis in historical fact when it is deployed by any country.

From this perspective, we are compelled to point out that in the United States, too, one is able to find a mistaken understanding of the facts of the comfort women issue. In their statement, the American scholars allow that, “the precise number of ‘comfort women’ […] will probably never be known for certain.” If this is truly the American scholars’ position, then it should be an imperative, based upon this admission of great uncertainty as to the actual number of comfort women, to correct the erroneous passages in the McGraw-Hill textbook without delay.

But the McGraw-Hill textbook is not the only site for the perpetuation of mistaken information on comfort women numbers. The stelae accompanying the comfort women statues erected throughout the United States also state unequivocally that “two hundred thousand ordinary women were abducted and forced to work for the Japanese military.”

In addition to these falsehoods, in the Coomaraswamy Report filed with the United Nations, as well as in United States House of Representatives Resolution No. 121, the Japanese military stands accused, not only of abducting comfort women, but also of drawing and quartering them, and of slaughtering them en masse in order to cover up the evidence of their crimes. What we are asking for here is simply the correction of statements such as these that are so greatly at odds with fact.

We believe it is our mission as scholars to bring facts to light exactly as we find them. We must not allow ourselves to be drawn away from our scholarly preserves and into the realm of politicization, as doing so would hinder the kind of dialogue and cooperation that are necessary for solving the many problems that we now face.

<4> There is no basis for singling Japan out among the twentieth-century history of wartime sexual violence and military prostitution

In their statement, the American scholars conclude that the Japanese military’s comfort woman system was “distin[ct].” Thus,

If the American scholars see the comfort woman system as one of prostitution carried out in the service of an army, then we are in agreement on this point. In order to prevent rape and other sexual violence in theaters of war, and in order also to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease, the Japanese military permitted brokers to procure comfort women from Japan as well as the Korean Peninsula, which at the time was part of the home territory of Japan. In addition to granting permission for this to take place, the Japanese military also helped expedite the process of procurement.

We object to the singling out of Japan for special opprobrium on this score, especially when one compares Japan’s actions with those of the Soviet Union’s Red Army, which permitted the rape of the women of defeated populations in Manchuria, Germany, and elsewhere; of the United States military, which used as prostitutes Japanese women provided by the Japanese government under the American Occupation; and of South Korea, which forced its own countrywomen to work as prostitutes for the sake of South Korea’s American allies during and after the Korean War.

Leaving aside for a moment the horrors of raping defeated populations, we feel that the American and South Korean actions described immediately above show just how common and universal was the “exploitation of young, poor, and vulnerable women."

As a result of the poverty in Japan and on the Korean Peninsula at that time, parents took out loans with prostitute brokers and made their daughters work for these brokers as repayment of those loans. Such tragedies are now regarded as violations of the law. However, one can still find such tragedies occurring with terrible frequency all around the world. Human trafficking is a booming business and is still the result of poverty and famine, such as the case of the North Koreans who flee into China in order to escape the crushing conditions in their home country. As a United Nations report lays out, women in North Korean political prisons are subjected to appalling sexual abuse. Women’s rights continue to be trampled upon, even as we write.

We consider it incumbent upon all of us to strive to eliminate such tragedies without any excuse or prevarication. In order to realize this aim, we must examine, from the perspective of women’s rights violations, all of the facts from the past through to the present in an empirical and academic way. We must not allow nationalism or political objectives to distort our view of the facts. ■

◆Drafters  

WATANABE Toshio           渡辺　利夫　            Takushoku University　＊President

NAKANISHI Terumasa    中西　輝政　　        Kyoto University

TAKUBO Tadae      　　　　田久保　忠衛　    Kyorin University

                       

◆Signatories                   

ANBO Katsuya       　安保　克也            Osaka International University

ANDO Yutaka          　安藤　豊    Hokkaido University of Education

ARAI Kohichi          　新井　弘一            Kyorin University

ARAKI Kazuhiro　荒木　和博    Takushoku University

ASADA Sadao          　麻田　貞雄            Doshisha University

ASANO Kazuo         　浅野　和生            Heisei International University

CHE Kilsong            　崔　吉城    Hiroshima University

EDWARDS Hiromi　　エドワーズ　博美   University of Maryland

ETOH Hiroyuki           江藤　裕之      Tohoku University

FIJII Genki       藤井　厳喜     Takushoku University

FUJIOKA Nobukatsu        藤岡　信勝    Takushoku University

FUKUCHI Atsushi    福地　惇        Kochi University

FUKUDA Hayaru   福田　逸        Meiji University

FUKUI Yuhzoh       　　　　福井　雄三            Tokyo International University

FURUTA Hiroshi    古田　博司    Tsukuba University

HAKAMADA Shigeki        袴田　茂樹    Niigata Prefectural University

HAMAYA Hidehiro浜谷　英博    Mie-Chukyo University

HASEGAWA Kohichi         長谷川　公一            Edogawa University

HASEYAMA Takahiko      長谷山　崇彦            Chuo University

HATA Ikuhiko         　　　　秦　郁彦    Nippon University

HIGASHINAKANO Shudo　　東中野　修道　　Asia University

HIGUCHI Tsuneharu        　　樋口　恒晴　　Tokiwa University

HiIZUMI Katsuo     　　　　樋泉　克夫            Aichi University

HIRAMA Yohichi    　　　　平間　洋一            National Defense Academy of Japan

ICHIMURA Shin-ichi        市村　真一    Kyoto University

IJIRI Hidenori        　　　　井尻　秀憲            Tokyo University

IMAOKA Hideki     　　　　今岡　日出紀        Shimane Prefectural University

INAMURA Kohboh            稲村　公望    Chuo University

INOUE Masao         　　　　井上　雅夫            Doshisha University

IRIE Takanori         　　　　入江　隆則            Meiji University

ISHIGAKI Kichiyo　　石垣　貴千代     Toyo University

ISHII Nozomu         　　石井　望　　　　Nagasaki Junshin Catholic University

ISOMAE Syuji        　　　磯前　秀二    Meijo University

ITOH Ken-ichi         　　　伊藤　憲一    Aoyama Gakuin University

ITOH Takashi         　　　伊藤　隆        　　　　Tokyo University

KANEKO Yoshio     　　　兼子　良夫    Kanagawa University

KANEOKA Hideo　　　金岡　秀郎       Akita International University

KATOH Juhachi     　　　加藤　十八    Chukyo Women`s Universitu

KATSUOKA Kanji　　勝岡　寛次                 Meisei University

KEINO Yoshio          　　　慶野　義雄    Heisei International University

KIMURA Hiroshi　　　木村　汎                   Hokkaido University

KITAMURA Minoru　　北村　稔                 Ritsumeikan University

KITAMURA Yoshikazu     北村　良和    Aichi University of Education

KOBORI Kei-ichiro            小堀　桂一郎            Tokyo University

KOIZUMI Toshio    　　　小泉　俊雄    Chiba Institute of Technology

KOYAMA Kazunori　　小山　一乗        Komazawa University

KOYAMA Tsunemi　　小山　常実                Ohtsuki University

KUNO Jun        久野　潤          Osaka International University

KUSAKA Kimindo  日下　公人    Tama University

MABUCHI Mutsuo            馬渕　睦夫    National Defense Academy of Japan

MATSU-URA Mitsunobu  　松浦　光修            Kohgakkan University

MERA Kohichi        　　　　目良　浩一            University of Southern California

MIZUTO Hideaki   水渡　英昭    Tohoku University

MOMOCHI Akira   百地　章        Nippon University

MURATA Noboru   村田　昇        Shiga University

NAGOSHI Takeo    　　　　名越　健郎            Takushoku University

NAKAMURA Katsunori    　中村　勝範            Keio University

NAKAYA Noriko     　　　　中屋　紀子            Miyagi University of Education

NISHI Osamu               西　修         Komazawa University

NISHIDATE Kazume        西館　数芽    Iwate University

NISHIO Kanji         　　 西尾　幹二   University of Electro-Communications

NISHIOKA Tsutomu          西岡　力        Tokyo Christian University

NITTA Hitoshi         　　　　新田　均    Kohgakkan University

NIWA Fumio            　　　　丹羽　文生            Takushoku University

NIWA Haruki           丹羽　春喜　　　Osaka-gakuinUniversitｙ

NODA Hiroyuki             野田　裕久        Ehime University

OH Sonfa           呉　善花      Takushoku University

OH-HARA Yasuo          大原　康男              Kokugakuin University

OHIWA Yujiro               大岩　裕次郎   Tokyo International University

OHTA Tatsuyuki          太田　辰幸              Toyo University

OKADA-COLLINS Mariko 岡田-ｺﾘﾝｽﾞマリ子Central Washington University

OKAMOTO Kohji    岡本　幸治    Osaka International University

OSADA Goroh                 長田　五郎        Myojo University

OSADA Mitsuo               長田　三男        Waseda University

OYAMA Kazunobu小山　和伸    Kanagawa University

SAKAI Nobuhiko    酒井　信彦    Tokyo University

SASE Masamori           佐瀬　昌盛 NationalDefenseAcademyofJapan

SHIBA Kimiya               柴　公也            Kumamoto Gakuen University

SHIBATA Norifumi            柴田　徳文    Kokushikan University

SHIBUYA Tsukasa澁谷　司        Takushoku University

SHIMADA Yohichi  島田　洋一    Fukui Prefectural University

SHIMOJOH Masao            下條　正男    Takushoku University

SUGIHARA Seishiroh       杉原　誠四郎            Josai University

TAKADA Jun                  高田　純            Sapporo Medical University

TAKAHARA Akiko      高原　朗子    Kumamoto University

TAKAHASHI Shiroh         高橋　史朗    Meisei University

TAKAI Susumu              高井　晉            National Defense Academy of Japan

TAKAYAMA Masayuki     高山　正之    Teikyo University

TANAKA Hidemichi           田中　英道    Tohoku University

TEI Taikin   　　　　鄭　大均    Tokyo Metropolitan University

TOKUMATSU Nobuo        徳松　信夫    Tokoha University

TOMIOKA Koh-ichiro        冨岡　幸一郎            Kanto Gakuin University

TOYODA Aritsune  豊田　有恒    Shimane Prefectural University

TOYOSHIMA Norio           豊島　典雄    Kyorin University

TUCHIDA Ryuhtaro          土田　龍太郎            Yokyo University

UMEHARA Katsuhiko      梅原　克彦　            Akita International University

UMEZAWA Shohei      梅澤　昇平    Shobi Gakuen University

URABE Kenshi       　　　　占部　賢志            Nakamura Gakuen University

USHIO Masato        　　　　潮　匡人    Takushoku University

WATANABE Shoh-ichi     渡部　昇一    Sophia University

YAGI Hidetsugu      　　　　八木　秀次            Reitaku University

YAMAFUJI Kazuo       山藤　和男          University Electro-Communications

YAMAMOTO Shigeru        山本　茂        Kyushu Women`s College

YAMASHITA Eiji   山下　英次    Osaka City University

YOSHIDA Yoshikatsu        吉田　好克    Miyazaki University

YOSHINAGAJun           吉永　潤        Kobe University

YOSHIWARA Tsuneo        吉原　恒雄    Takushoku University

                       

    （ 110 persons in all ）