Speaker: Jongmoon Ha, Graduate School of Korean History, 한신대학교 (Hanshin University)

Abstract: »While Japanese historical revisionists have since the 1990s asserted that “comfort women” were prostitutes working at brothels ran by civilians, war diaries (陣中日誌, jinchunisshi) kept by the Japanese Imperial Army show intimate connections between “comfort stations” and military units. Focusing on the war diaries of the 4th Company, 85th Logistic Security Troops, this presentation develops a holistic analysis of how the comfort station located in Okidaito Island of Okinawa prefecture was managed as a military institution. First, not only was the 4th Company closely involved in the management of the comfort station in Okidaito Island, higher units also gave a formal approval and command for the comfort station’s relocation to the island and its operation. Second, the war diaries show that comfort women were not treated as civilians. When the 38th Infantry Regiment issued orders to evacuate all civilians prior to the U.S. military landing in Okidaito Island, comfort women were excluded from these orders. Comfort women were in fact considered the ‘third personnel’ of the army, alongside soldiers and military personnel. Before the battle with the U.S. military, the 4th Company issued combat orders that regulated the behaviors and actions of comfort women in comfort station. In sum, war diaries kept by the Japanese Imperial Army provide evidence that comfort stations were paramilitary facilities where “comfort women” were forced to work as third personnel of the army.« (Source: Online Program)

Wikipedia: 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