Former comfort woman tells her story, 70 years on
3 August 2015 Last updated at 23:51 BST
Seventy years after the end of World War Two, revisionism in Japan is growing
stronger and becoming more mainstream.
Some are denying that Japan committed war atrocities, including forcing women
in China, South Korea and South East Asia to be comfort women, or sex slaves
for Japanese soldiers.
Former comfort woman Lee Ok Seon tells the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes her story.
South Korea's comfort women struggle to be heard
3 August 2015 Last updated at 23:52 BST
Seventy years after the end of World War Two, revisionism in Japan is growing
stronger and becoming more mainstream.
Some are denying that Japan committed war atrocities, including forcing women
in China, South Korea and South East Asia to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports on why some in Japan continue to deny
the existence of the so-called comfort women.
Read more: Japan revisionists deny WW2 sex slave atrocities
Japan revisionists deny WW2 sex slave atrocities
By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
BBC News
3 August 2015
◆'We were kidnapped'
Lee Ok Seon is a tiny 88-year-old with thick white curly hair and badly-fitting
false teeth. She chuckles as I try to cajole her to speak to me in Chinese.
Ms Lee spent 65 years in China, and only returned to South Korea 15 years ago.
She was born in the port city of Busan on the southern tip of modern day South
Korea. Her family was poor and she was sent out to work at the age of 14.
"I had to start work as a housekeeper for another family at a young age. It was
at that time I was out on the street one day… that's how I got kidnapped,"
she says. She said two men grabbed her and put her on a train.
"By the time we arrived I realised we had crossed the border into China. I was
sent to a place where there were already several comfort women.
"I wonder why they called us comfort women. We didn't go by our own accord,
we were kidnapped. I was forced to have sex with many men each day."
Ms Lee spent three years in the brothel close to a Japanese military camp in
Manchuria. I ask her why she didn't try to escape.
"Of course I tried to escape several times!"
she says.
"Each time I was taken back and I was beaten over and over. The military police
would ask me 'Why are you trying to escape?' I would tell them because I am cold
and have no food. They would hit me again saying I talked too much."
◆'Ridiculous to deny'
Masayoshi Matsumoto is now 93 and lives with his daughter on the edge of Tokyo.
He has a warm open face and the piercing eyes of a much younger man.
As a 20-year-old he served as a medical orderly in northwest China.
"There were six comfort women for our unit,"
he tells me.
"Once a month I would check them for sexually transmitted diseases.
"The Korean women were mainly for the officers,"
he says.
"So the ordinary soldiers attacked local villages screaming, 'Are there any good
girls here?' Those soldiers robbed, raped, or killed those who did not listen to them."
Those who were captured were taken to Mr Matsumoto's unit to serve as comfort women.
After the war Mr Matsumoto became a priest to try and atone for his sins. For decades
he said nothing of what he'd seen.
But then as the voices of denial grew stronger he was filled with righteous anger,
and decided to speak out.
"It's ridiculous... Mr Abe speaks as if this is something he witnessed, but he didn't.
I did,"
says Mr Matsumoto.
"Someone told me this, 'One who fails to look back and perceive the past will repeat
their wrongdoing'. But Mr Abe thinks we should erase anything bad Japan had done in
the past and pretend nothing happened. That is why I cannot forgive him,"
he adds. Mr Matsumoto sits back in his chair and chuckles.
"One day the right-wingers will come and get me for saying such things,"
he says, drawing a finger across his throat. That seems unlikely, but Mr Matsumoto and
all the other survivors are now in their late 80s or 90s.
39th session of the Committee Bonn,Germany 28 June - 8 July 2015
Working documents
ttp://whc.unesco. org/en/sessions/39com/documents/
WHC-15/39.COM/8B Nominations to the World Heritage List
ttp://whc.unesco. org/archive/2015/whc15-39com-8B-en.pdf
p.18〜20
WHC-15/39.COM/INF.8B1 ICOMOS Evaluation of Nominations of Cultural and Mixed Properties to the World Heritage List
ttp://whc.unesco. org/archive/2015/whc15-39com-inf8B1-en.pdf
p.88〜103
291 ToBeOrNot鳶◆gjUN5jbszo sage 2015/07/07(火)01:00:53 ID:uoX
「forced to work」という表現がネットで語られていますが。
今のところ、議事録では確認できていませんｗ
C. Strengthen Our Global Network of Allies and Partners
アジア
We will strengthen our alliances with Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea,
the Philippines, and Thailand. We also will deepen our security relationship
with India and build upon our partnerships with New Zealand, Singapore,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.
ヨーロッパ
In Europe, we remain steadfast in our commitment to our NATO allies. NATO
provides vital collective security guarantees and is strategically important
for deterring conflict, particularly in light of recent Russian aggression
on its periphery.
中央アジア
In the Middle East, we remain fully committed to Israel's security and
Qualitative Military Edge. We also are helping other vital partners in that
region increase their defenses, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, and Pakistan.
Page 10
With advanced partners like NATO, Australia, Japan, and Korea, our exercises
emphasize sophisticated capabilities such as assuring access to contested
environments and deterring and responding to hybrid conflicts.
Greece’s Debt Due: What Greece Owes When
Greece is negotiating with its eurozone creditors to get more aid before the indebted government runs out of cash. Here’s what Greece owes, when.
