Japan is a very technologically advanced and developed country and a great power. Japan is a global leader and has made significant contributions in the field of robotics, the automobile industry, and the electronics industry. The culture of Japan is very vivid and holds in very high esteem throughout the world.
But the absurdity of Japan during the World War 2 cannot be neglected. The Japanese concept of comfort women is nerve-racking. Japanese World War 2 Comfort Women system was used to kidnap, rape, and sexually exploit young women. Young girls and women were kidnapped from their native countries. Comfort women were farmers, factory workers, students, and other ordinary girls who were abducted from their families either by the use of physical force or by threatening them.
As taught in LL. B college in Kolkata under human rights and international law that the Japanese Army has a long history of mistreating young girls and women as sex slaves. They called this inhuman treatment serving the nation and serving the war soldiers. The term ‘comfort women’ was derived from the Japanese word ‘ianfu’ which literally means comforting or consoling women. It means that the women were comforting and consoling the soldiers fighting for the army.
Approximately, 50,000- 2,00,000 women were forcefully involved. Most of the women were occupied and kidnapped. The Japanese Army did not just use the comfort women system in South Korea and China but also in many other Asian countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, etc. This is taught in 3 years LL. B course in West Bengal under human rights that there are several reasons that make the Japanese army so brutal towards comfort women including their old tradition and belief that all Asians are inferior beings and so are women. Japanese women were the first victims to be slaved under brothels to serve in the army. But they were inadequate in number. Therefore, women were abducted from the nearing countries.
As taught in LL. B college in Kolkata that the brothels were initially set up in military camps to satisfy the soldiers. But the fear of rising wartime rape statistics and anti-japanese sentiment across the territory led to the formation of comfort stations were built. Women were coerced to join the army as nurses and then forced into prostitution.
Comfort Women were used to preventing military revolt by satisfying the troops. Comfort Stations were open and visible brothels so that the soldier waiting outside for his turn could see the visuals. One woman was forced to serve 20-30 soldiers a day. It increased the spread of venereal diseases and led to the death of several women.
But the concept of the comfort women system was not unique to the Japanese army. This is taught in 3 years LL. B course in West Bengal that it is not uncommon for a woman from Asia to be forcibly taken away by the military during wartime. Comfort Women were not just used in Asia but in Europe as well. It is shameful that we only remember the soldiers of World War 2 but not the true victims of it.
