Legal experts and “Comfort Women” movement activists reflect on the 34-year legal struggle to resolve the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue.
Editorial Team of Webzine <Kyeol>
In this conversation, Freedom United Executive Director Joanna Ewart-James and Kyeol examine how modern slavery is sustained by social and institutional systems, how collective action can drive meaningful change, and how historical awareness can deepen our understanding of injustices that persist today.
Joanna Ewart-James
The Philippines’ ninth Periodic Report on the implementation of the CEDAW cites the Safe Spaces Act and the Anti-Mail Order Spouse Act, but there is no mention of the “Comfort Women.” When asked, the Philippine Commission on Women gives sympathetic statements
BERNARD KARGANILLA
Marking the 20th anniversary of the ‘Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery in 2000’
Yang Mi-gang
All things considered, Japan must bear responsibility as a nation. To reignite the movement, a civic movement aimed at achieving legislative resolution was needed. In December 1996, the “Gathering for Legislative Resolution of the “Comfort Women” Issue” was established, with Attorney Tsuchiya Koken as the Chairman, Professor Arai Shinichi from Surugadai University as the Vice Chairman, and Arimitsu Ken serving as the Secretariat Liaison.
Totsuka Etsuro (戶塚悅朗)
Asian Women’s Shelter’s executive director shares how the organization began and how it works to serve “not either/or, but all” communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Orchid Pusey
Reflecting on and exploring how to record, remember, and carry forward the history of the “Comfort Women” beyond the framework of legal remedies.
The Berlin Statue of Peace, established in 2020, marked an important milestone in the “Comfort Women” memorial movement as the first public memorial of its kind in Europe.
Jung-Hwa Han
Eka Hindrati is an Indonesian researcher who is persistently engaging in various activities towards resolving the 'comfort women' issues despite many challenges. Through a written interview, we asked her about the progress of studies and investigations on 'Japanese military sexual slavery' in Indonesia, and about what efforts are needed in order for South Korea and Indonesia to unite through the shared past.
Eka Hindrati
Kyung-hee Cho, Assistant Professor, Institute for East Asian Studies, Sungkonghoe University
Kyung-hee Cho