The majority of these sex slaves came from Korea, which was a colony of Japan. Another large amount of captive women came from China. The remainder came from the Philippines, Burma and Indonesia.
The Japanese selected women they believed to be racially inferior. Virgins were actively selected.
Daily ordeal was horrible
The women were raped repeatedly, sometimes as many as 40 men a day. Japanese troops would beat them and sometimes torture them. The Japanese called them “Comfort Women” Many of the “stations” forced the women to accept Japanese names and speak Japanese. Some of them were forced to entertain the troops with song and dance.
The first “comfort station” was in Shanghai, China. The women were shipped like military supplies. They were listed as “ammunition” or amenities.” The Japanese government knew all about these sex slaves. The Japanese Army had their medical doctors carry out health checks to prevent the spread of venereal disease.
Deception and coercion
The women were taken from mostly poor families under the guise of working in a factory. Many times they were taken away by brute force.
They were not all adult women. Many of them were young girls ranging in age from 13 to 19 years. Soldiers would come in the night, break into a home and “kidnap” the young girls. One young 11 year old girl was dragged from her home after her father had his head cut off by the intruders. Another 13 year old watched in horror as her mother was bayoneted in front of her eyes.
In Korea, the women were recruited according to the official labor draft. This rule was instituted to strengthen the Japanese war effort. The women believed they were going to work in a factory, but instead, worked in one of the “comfort stations.”
Survivors are ostracized
The 25% who survived the war returned home to isolation and ridicule. They also had personal feelings of guilt and shame. Many of them were beaten or killed. Many couldn’t marry as the result of the physical and sexual abuse. They suffer to this day with sleep disorders, nightmares and the inability to bear children.
Another legacy the Japanese left behind.
Only Japanese soldiers could use the services of these sex slaves. The price varied by nationality and the rank of each soldier determined the length of time allowed per visit.
As the war ended the troops had orders to kill as many of the women as possible. The
story of the “comfort women” is the most shameful story of the worst human rights abuse committed by the Japanese during World War II.
Sources:
Gross Forced Prostitution Barbara Drinck, Kleine Verlag (2007)
Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery in the Japanese Military in World War II, Yoshiaki Yoshimi, Columbia University Press (2001)
Comfort Woman, Nora Okja Keller, London, Penguin (1998)
Lee Bergee - * Retired-U. S. Marine Corps * Fought in World War II and Korea-1950 (wounded twice) * Forty years experience as a war history ...
