Author: Katharine McGregor, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne - Academia.edu, ORCID

Abstracts:
- »Studying the transnational activism on the subject of Japanese "comfort women," however, Katherine McGregor, in Chap. 7, offers quite a different take on the issue. While Indonesians in Wray's chapter were ready to forgive the aggressor, Japanese leftist individuals with their own personal trauma of military aggression reached out to Indonesian survivors of Iu Gun Ian Fu during the Japanese occupation and advocated to compensate for their past abuses. This chapter follows the life history of three individuals born between 1934 and 1947, before and after the war-Takagi Ken'ichi (a lawyer), Kimura Koichi (a priest), and Matsui Yayori (a journalist/activist)-to find explanation for their transformation into transnational activism for Iu Gun Ian Fu survivors. Besides family suffering during the war, like in Wray's chapter, complex factors came to play as the supporting multidimensional contexts for their activism. Strongest of all is their direct interaction with survivors that nurtured their capacity to understand "historical experience of other countries" and empathize with people outside Japan who suffered from injustice done by Japan during the war.« (Source: Budianta, Melani, and Sylvia Tiwon. »Trajectories of Memory: An Introduction.« Trajectories of Memory: Excavating the Past in Indonesia. Edited by Melani Budianta et al. Singapore 2023: 9-10.)

- »In this chapter, I analyse activism relating to survivors of the so-called comfort women system, enforced military prostitution, during World War Two. The term 'comfort women' is highly problematic and considered offensive by many survivors, yet it continues to be the most commonly used term to describe survivors. The most well-known example of national-based activism from affected countries is the activism of the Korean Council. The second most active national group is probably ASCENT from the Philippines (Medoza, 2003). In recognition, however, of the transnational nature of activism on this issue, scholars have studied cooperation between Japanese and Korean activists and between Japanese and Chinese activists, and the role of the Korean diaspora in activism in the United States and Australia. In these studies, the authors have variously reflected on the bases of these transnational partnerships and the different positions of activists within them in relation to their national affiliations and new potential alliances that transcend the nation.« (Source: SpringerLink)

Contents:

	The History of the System in the Netherlands EastIndies (p. 119)
	The Developmentof Indonesian Activism (p. 120)
	War Memory and War Responsibility: Probing the Life Stories of Japanese Activists for Indonesian Survivors (p. 121)
	Takagi Ken'ichi: ALawyer (p. 122)
	Kimura Kōichi: A Priest (p. 125)
	Matsui Yayori: A Journalist/Activist (p. 128)
	Conclusions on Transnational Activism for the Survivors of Enforced Military Prostitution (p. 132)
	Acknowledgements (p. 133)
	References (p. 133)

Wikipedia: History of Asia: History of Indonesia / Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies | History of Asia: History of Japan / Shōwa era | 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