뉴스레터

The Asian Solidarity Conference on June 1,
attended by activists from eight countries
around the world where victims of the
military sexual slavery by Japan reside

On May 31, 2014, I visited Tokyo to attend the 12th Asian Solidarity Conference for Resolving the 'Comfort Women Issue' hosted by the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan. This year's conference was a five-day event from May 31 to June 4 on the theme "The World Is Demanding the Resolution of the 'Comfort Women' Issue," and it was attended by victims of the military sexual slavery by Japan, supporting activists and representatives of Korean and Japanese civil-society organizations to urge the Japanese government to resolve the 'comfort women' issue. This was an important conference where specifically victims and activities from eight countries (Taiwan, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, the Netherlands, and Japan, as well as Korea) gathered together, sharing and discussing the solution desired by the victims of the military sexual slavery by Japan and adopting a written demand to be submitted to the Japanese government.

Since the first Asian Solidarity Conference started in 1992, the civil-society organizations of Korea and Japan have expanded the meaning of the 'comfort women' issue and treated it as a universal 'issue of war and women's human rights' instead of simply as a political, historical, or national issue, causing a great sensation. As a result of their solidarity activities, international organizations have adopted resolutions and reports demanding the Japanese government's official apology, legal reparation, and punishment of those responsible for all kinds of crimes committed during World War II, especially the military sexual slavery, and they have evolved into global civic movements to create a world in which such a tragic history will never be repeated.

The Tragedy of Those Who Fail to Remember History

As I watched the 'comfort women' issue being addressed at the 12th Asian Solidarity Conference, I felt that despite the efforts and accomplishments made so far, there were too many obstacles to be optimistic about its resolution. One of the obstacles is that the negative legacy of the past has persisted to this day because unlike Europe, the U.S. accommodated Japan in post-war settlement for its own national interest. In addition, in the new order of international politics characterized by the complex U.S.-China confrontation, the agenda of studies on this topic is limited to serving the interests of their own countries. I felt that these obstacles were preventing the positive accomplishments made by the civil-society organizations of Korea and Japan and other countries around the world over the last twenty years from being influential.

"Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it." said George Santayana (1863-1952), a philosopher from Spain. The crimes against humanity committed by Germany and Japan during World War II have left many people still traumatized. In particular, the 'comfort women' issue, linked to the growing nationalism today in the three Northeast Asian countries, is seriously affecting the regional situation. Against this backdrop, to avoid repeating the mistakes in the past, the government, the academia, and civil-society organizations should make concerted efforts to come up with a universal and peaceful solution. For the future of Asia, it is essential for Japan and the East Asian countries that suffered because of Japan's aggression to sort out this issue. Therefore, the 'comfort women' issue is in urgent need of efforts and interest from Japan, the victim countries, and the U.S. and the West responsible for such tragic historical legacy for its resolution.