Authors:
- Yong-Shik Lee, School of Law, Loyola University Chicago - Google Scholar

- Natsu Taylor Saito, College of Law, Georgia State University - Personal Website

- Jonathan Todres, College of Law, Georgia State University - Personal Website, Google Scholar

Abstract: »Over seven decades have passed since the end of the Second World War, but the trauma from the cruelest war in human history continues today, perpetuated by denial of responsibility for the war crimes committed and unjust attempts to rewrite history at the expense of dignity, life, and justice for the victims of the most serious human rights violations. The latest such attempt is a troubling recharacterization of the sexual slavery enforced by Japan during the Second World War as a legitimate contractual arrangement. A recent paper authored by J. Mark Ramseyer, entitled “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War,” mischaracterizes forced sexual slavery as a contractual process by which the victims freely participated in prostitution in return for a substantial reward, denying the responsibility of the Japanese government and its military for the atrocious human rights violations committed. The argument of that paper is flawed and disregards a breath of evidence, including numerous testimonies of survivors, and the findings of scholars, NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission, that the victims were coerced, deceived, or otherwise manipulated into sexual servitude with the direct or indirect involvement of the Japanese government or the military, as admitted by Japan in the 1993 Kono Statement. This article discusses the critical flaws in the arguments advanced by the paper, the traumatic impact of such arguments on survivors of these war crimes, and the broader implications of these (and other similar) justifications for sexual exploitation.« (Source: Michigan Journal of International Law)

Contents:

	I. Introduction (p. 291)
	II. Irrelevance of “Prewar Prostitution” (p. 296)
		A. Flawed Presumptions (p. 296)
		B. Disconnect Between Brothels and the Forced Sex Stations (p. 302)
	III. Brutality in the Forced Sex Station (“Comfort Station”) (p. 305)
		A. Mistreatment, Torture, and Killing (p. 305)
		B. Lasting Wounds (p. 308)
	IV. Fallacy of Contract Arguments (p. 311)
		A. Defects in Arguments (p. 311)
			1. Flawed Application of Game Theory (p. 311)
			2. Not a Fair Contract but One to Exploit (p. 312)
		B. Unfeasibility of Contractual Recruitment (p. 314)
	V. Human Rights Implications (p. 316)
	VI. Conclusion (p. 318)

Wikipedia: History of Asia: History of Japan / Shōwa era | History of Asia: History of Korea / Korea under Japanese rule | Art: Korean art / Jane Jin Kaisen | Prostitution: Forced prostitution / Comfort women | Sex and the law: Wartime sexual violence / Wartime sexual violence in World War II | War: Pacific War / Japanese war crimes