IV)Questions about Testimonies of Former Comfort Women.

Japanese government actually took by force 0.6 million Koreans to Japan during wartime. The insistence Japanese government considered riots in Korea because of anti-Japan's emotion was foolish.

All the 0.6 millions Korean were taken to Japan by the Japanese government. Korean workers were actually called out from Korea to Japan since September 1939. Besides, not all forms of mobilization were forced.

i) Mobilization by free recruitment (from September 1939 to January 1942)
ii) Mobilization by government sevice's mediation (from February 1942 to August 1944)
iii) Mobilization by General Mobilization Order (from September 1944 to August 1945)

In these three cases, "forcing Korean workers to Japan" was a form by General Mobilization Order because it had a legal force. It also intended for Japanese people. It was not racial discrimination's policy.
It was given to citizens in Korea since September 1944, but it had been already given to Army personnel and big factory workers in 1941 and February 1944. It was given to citizens in Japan except for Korea and Taiwan in July 1939.

The number of the 0.6 million Koreans included those who were gathered by mobilization of free recruitment and government sevice's mediation. Most of those Koreans were gathered by the long-term mobilization of free recruitment. Japanese government did not take such a large number of Koreans to Japan during wartime by force.
Japanese government must have considered riots in Korea because of anti-Japan's emotion. Japanese government delayed enforcement by General Mobilization Order and it considers the anti-Japan movement by Koreans in Korea later than in Japan.

Japanese government took a lot of Korean workers to Japan by General Mobilization Order. It would take Korean women to comfort stations. Japanese government took a lot of Japanese workers to factories. It was not a racial discrimination. It was applied to those who had Japanese nationality, including Koreans then.

Besides, Japanese government actually did not take Japanese women to comfort stations. It might not have taken Korean women to comfort stations. General Mobilization Orders does not prove to be racial discrimination policy. Even though Japanese government had a policy to oppress Korean activists, not all comfort women who were abducted and deceived were daughters of activists for independence.

Considering a lot of poor families in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other Asian countries, women in poor families would rush to comfort women's high income which was more than ten times of the mens' college graduates' salary in the first year and more than one hundred times of soldiers' income at that time. Moreover, comfort women's income was far better than prostitute's income in Japan.


The Number of Prostitutes State Approved in Prewar.
(Following police's statistics, professor Hata made this table.)

Year Prostitutes Geisha Female Workers at Pub Waitresses at Cafe Bar Brothel's Dealers Guests
192750,80080,086111,032-11,38322,270,000
193152,06477,35181,01977,38110,79922,390,000
193747,21779,86885,699111,2849,23831,820,000
1941 (Japan Only)32,29469,07768,43966,8027,58827,520,000
(Korea) 3,8136,7231,6023,891--
1942 (Tokyo)4,14512,031--744-
1943 (Tokyo)2,7999,016--416-
1953 (Japan) 245,000-----


(Note I) There were 1671 streetwalkers in Tokyo (1942)
(II) According to the statistics of the Foreign Ministry, there were about 13200 prostitues that went abroad in 1935. (Most prostitutes went abroad to Manzhou.) (III) In addition, there were a lot of "Chabuya" many streetwalkers gathered in Tamanoi, Kameido, (Tokyo) Honmoku (Yokohama).
(IV) Most of cafe bar's waitresses and women working at pub were the reserves of prostitutes.
24 millions prostitutes at a peak year declined to 20 millions prostitutes in 1937 and to 17 millions prostitutes in 1941, but the number of guests were nearly fixed. A lot of prostitutes changed their jobs into comfort women.
Korean brothel's dealers could not go into Japan. However, they could supply comfort women to armies since 7th July 1937. Brothel's dealers had a lot of comfort women, and if they recruited, they could secure far more comfort women. It was not necessary to be helped by Army and military police at all.
Women would not become prostitutes voluntarily for money because Korea was a traditional society at that time. However, 3,813 prostitutes, 6,723 Geisha, 1,602 women working at pub, and 3,891 cafe bar's waitresses in Korea existed. Some Korean women must have become prostitutes voluntarily for money.

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