Marking the 20th anniversary of the ‘Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery in 2000’ 

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.

Kyung-hee Cho, Assistant Professor, Institute for East Asian Studies, Sungkonghoe University

She is an Emeritus Professor of Aoyama Gakuin University. As a Korean in Japan (a Zainichi Korean) and a researcher who laid the foundation for the studies of colonial history and women's history in Japan, she has been playing an important role in investigating the truth about the ‘Comfort Women’ issue. Her main publications include 『Military and Sexual Violence』, 『A Study on the East Asia Japanese military sexual slavery (co-authorship)』, 『A Study of 70 Years of Women's History in Korea (co-authorship)』, 『Colonialism, War, ‘Comfort Women’ for the Military (co-authorship)』, 『War and Social Affairs in East Asia(co-authorship)』, and so on.

Kang Jeong-sook majored in the women's history of modern Korea, and currently works as a researcher at the Centre for East Asian History at Sungkyunkwan University. She contributed greatly to the early studies on the ‘Comfort Women’, by investigating the truth of the ‘Comfort Women’ issue, recording the testimonies of the ‘Comfort Women’ victims, etc. while working at the Korean Institute of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery and the Truth Commission on Forced Mobilization.

The ‘Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on the Trial of Japan's Military Sexual Slavery in 2000’ (hereinafter ‘Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal 2000’) was held at the Kudan Kaikan Hall in Tokyo, Japan for six days, starting with the opening ceremony on December 7, 2000, until December 12, 2000.

The spread of “Comfort Women” memorials across different cities and countries offers insights into both possibilities and the limits of memory activism, especially in an era when the world continues to confront the legacies of colonialism, racism, and historical injustice.

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.

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.

Attorney Sanghee Lee, the head of the Lawyers for the Democratic Society Task Force addressing the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issue