Japan’s Comfort Women by Yuki Tanaka book review

Several scholars have written of the crimes committed against women in sexual slavery, as well as providing proof of the abuses. Yuki Tanaka's book, Japan's Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During World War II and the US Occupation, was published by Routledge in 2002. Yuki Tanaka is a scholar and historian who has published widely on forced prostitution and military rule. The current paper offers an outline of the book as well as the author's statement and reflection.
Summary
In the first chapter Tanaka describes how the comfort women systems started. He describes in details the historical processes entailed in the establishment of the ianjo (comfort stations) that was encountered in the World War II as a military policy in which there was an extensive collaboration between various arms of the Japanese government and military. Tanaka further indicates that the use of comfort women was part of military policy. “….Japanese forces adopted the military comfort women system as a general policy in the late 1937” (p.13). In most of the cases the women were forcefully recruited. Majority of the women were Korea that was occupied by Japan at the time. Chapter one further describes why the use of comfort women. The reasons given for the existence of comfort stations include steps to avert mass military rapes of civilians and as a means to prevent the spread of venereal diseases (VD) that were rampant during the time. “The Japanese commanders in Siberia were disturbed by high rates among the troops” (p. 11). One of the officials in Shanghai writes in his diary that the women were necessary “in consideration of our soldiers' sexual problems” (p. 10).

Chapter two of the book details how the women were procured and their lives as forced prostitutes. The author outlines some of the methods for recruiting the women as “intimidation, kidnapping, and deception” (p. 23). Women in professions such as nursing were deceived that they were going to be to be employed as nurses abroad only to end up in comfort stations. Tanaka writes, “there are cases of fully qualified nurses being recruited in the false pretense that they were being sent overseas to work as military nurses”(p. 44). The chapter also details the techniques and the individuals responsible for the recruitment of women in countries such as Taiwan, Korea, China and Philippines. He asserts, “it was rare that the military personnel were involved in actually ‘recruiting’ the women’” (p. 45).

In the third chapter, Tanaka addresses the use of comfort women in Dutch West Indies. The author details how Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1942 for the interest of controlling the oil fields in the country. “The conquest of Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia) was a high priority” (p.61), writes Tanaka. Violence against women is reported with the Japanese soldiers seen to have raped repeatedly with the approval of the forces commanding officer. The author claims “Japanese troops seem to have committed various acts of sexual violence against Dutch women…” (p. 61). The author presents accounts of the women who were raped by soldiers especially in one emergency hospital. On Saturday afternoon March 7, 1942, Japanese soldiers (odd soldier) appeared in the emergency hospital where women and children were…” (p. 62). Section also details how Dutch women were later recruited into forced sexual slavery for the pleasure of the soldiers.

The role played by the US in the exploitation of the comfort women is explored in the fourth chapter. The author discusses why the US chose to ignore the issue of the comfort women. He questions why the Tribune formed to prosecute war crimes during the occupation ignored the evidence on comfort women. He claims, “yet the issue of comfort women….was never dealt with in this trial” (p. 84). Tanaka describes the military policies used in preventing the spreading of the venereal diseases. On page 84, Tanaka writes, “Yet secondary sources reveal that the US and allied forces had planned to establish brothels to serve the soldiers as they advance”. The author says of the importance of the prophylactic measures; “the fact that the prophylactic units were airlifted and not shipped indicates a matter of urgency” (p. 88).

The fifth Chapter of the book Tanaka describes the sexual violence committed by Allied occupation forces against Japanese women. He claims, “The allied forces were all responsible for the tribulation that many Japanese women experienced” (p. 123). He argues that the Allied forces’ involvement in prostitution was similar to the system that had been perpetrated by the Japanese soldiers in the exploitation of comfort women. The involvement of the American forces is indicated in the allegations of the US engagement in rape. The author indicates “….noted in his diary that his very first meeting with General Douglas MacArthur in Japan was not about Japan's surrender but rather about 'rape by marines'” (p. 123). Though there is no evidence for mass rape of the Japanese women by the Allied forces, Tanaka relies on oral accounts by the women as indicated in the author’s description of the “‘mass rape by the Allied soldiers' but points to credible oral accounts by Japanese women of rape and assault during this period” (p. 110).

In the last chapter the author details the Japanese government creating comfort women system for the occupation forces. He writes, “the comfort women system were established for use by Allied soldiers and staffed by professional Japanese prostitutes and recruited 'volunteers'” (p. 138). Tanaka claims that comfort system were created for the occupation soldiers “for the Allied nations not to prosecute the Japanese for the 'comfort' women system” (p. 151). The author also describes the creation of the Recreation and Amusement Association. In the last section of the chapter the author looks at the Occupation involvement in prostitution as well as well as the policies aimed at reducing the spread of venereal diseases.

The Author’s Main Argument

From the book, the author’s main argument is the fact that the crimes that were committed against the comfort were not only atrocities committed due to victimization and objectification but were also crimes against humanity. Some of the evidence that the authors use include the horrific accounts by the victims as well as photos taken to prove the inhumane conditions to which the women were subjected. The writer introduces the book with the account of a former ‘comfort’ woman, Maria Rosa Henson.

Twelve soldiers raped me in quick succession, after which I was given half an hour rest. Then twelve more soldiers followed. ... I bled so much and was in such pain, I could not even stand up. ... I felt much pain, and my vagina was swollen. ... Every day, from two in the afternoon to ten in the evening, the soldiers lined up outside my room and the rooms of the six other women there. I did not even have time to wash after each assault. At the end of the day, I just closed my eyes and cried (p. 1).

Tanaka’s evidence of crime against humanity is indicated in the photos of the large number of dead bodies of the women who massacred in Nanjing (p.12). The author writes that the women were mistreated and sexually assaulted even after falling ill or became pregnant. As a crime against humanity Tanaka argues that the Allied forces and especially the US forces failed to act against the comfort women system during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal). He declares the comfort women system as, “crime against humanity on an unprecedented scale” (p. 84).

Reflections and Conclusion

The book exhaustively describes the inhumane processes that were used in the procurement and treatment of ‘comfort’ women as well the degrading conditions to which the women were exposed. From the evidence present it can be observed that the author succinctly unearths and describes the essence of sexual by the soldiers in various parts of the world. At the same time it can be noted that the writer blames the Allied forces for failing to act against the various atrocities against the women even though there was enough for violation of human rights. Tanaka also successfully connects the indifferences by the US forces to their methods for control the spread of the venereal diseases Even though Tanaka argues that the comfort women system was a crime against humanity he fails to discuss the details of any customary international law. It can also be observed that it is not clear in the book how the definition of the crimes against humanity and the related laws have developed since the second World War. The use of photographs for analysis in the book can be seen to have not been well chosen for example the photo in page 129 shows women working in a cloth factory while it has been used to show a condition of recruitment of young women into prostitution.