IV)Questions about Testimonies of Former Comfort Women.
Ms. Keiko Maeda, a supporter of Korean comfort women's lawsuit, told that comfort women were recruited only twice by newspaper's advertisements and the contents showed the governors of the Korea recruited brothel's dealers.
Maeda is distorting its contents, which reported that Mr. Kyo (Korean), a brothel's dealer, recruited comfort women. As most Korean women were not well-educated
enough to read the advertisements written by Chinese characters only.
(They might be able to read sentences written by easier Japanese characters such as "Hiragana," and "Katakana." Japan forced Koreans to study Japanese and speak it. Korean would not live without knowing basic Japanese characters.)
The advertisements written only by Chinese characters would be useless in order to gather comfort women. Moreover, a lot of applicants had already rushed to comfort women's recruitments, not by newspaper advertisements. It just denies comfort women were not recruited by newspaper advertisements.
Those advertisements were inserted in newspaper at the last stage of the Passific War. Brothel's dealers could not easily gather applicants, and they were forced to insert advertisements in newspapers.
However, the most important problem for Japanese Army was preparation for war. Japanese Army did not have enough time to abduct Asian women cooperating with brothel's dealers.
Mr.Il Myeon-Kim, a Korean researcher about comfort women, told that Japanese Army abducted and deceived Korean women to gather virgins because virgins did not have venereal diseases. Mr. Tetsuo Asao, a Japanese Army surgeon, reported that general quality of prostitutes was proportional to the age of prostitutes. Few Korean comfort women had venereal diseases. Most Japanese comfort women were more than 20
years old and some of them were about 40 years old. Besides, they conducted
prostitution for several years. On the other hand, most Korean comfort women were younger and not experienced.
The essential problem was the treatment for venereal diseases. Army surgeons' medical examinations and spreading contraceptives are more rational, economical, and drastic solution, than abducting virgins. If virgins had sex with men who had venereal diseases, virgins would infect venereal diseases.
Abduction of virgins was not rational and drastic solution at all. It was not necessary for virginity to treat venereal diseases. Japanese Army did not intend to abduct Korean virgins as measures of venereal diseases. In addition, Asao did never tell Japanese Army might send Korean women against their will for Korean's extermination.
"Cases on Revising System of Temporary Staff at Governor of the
Korea" (on 27th June 1944) reported about a misunderstanding rumor in Korea. "Teishintai" (Women's volunteer corps working at factoties) supplied virgins to be prostitutes by force.
"Teishin" meant that people sacrificed their lives for Japan. It would be interpreted
as sacrificing their bodies for Japan. This misunderstanding is very absurd and vicious. The governor of Korea increased the number of policemen in order to regulate this false rumor and misunderstandings. Japanese government carefully considered anti-Japan's emotion in Korea. Moreover, the rumor would be false because
there is no witness even in the case of comfort women.
Professor Yoshimi pointed out the exceptional rule to exclude colonies in "the International Treaty Concerning the Prohibition of Trading Women and Children." Korea and Taiwan were excluded from the international treaty, so Japanese Army
abducted and deceived Korean and Taiwanese women.
However, Japanese Army enforced "The Case on the Recruitness of Comfort Women for Military Comfort Station." to Korea on March 1938. Japanese government enforced "Cases How to Handle Women Who Would Make a Voyage to China" to Korea. According to the report by the high officer working in the governor-office of Korea, a lot of Korean comfort women were issued ID cards in order to make a voyage to China by the
governor of Korea.)
Comfort women of Typical case A had been abducted by vicious brothel's dealers who pretended Japanese Army. "The Case on Recruitment of Comfort Women for
Military Comfort Station" reported some merchants (owners of comfort stations or mediators) made bad use of the Army's name and pretended as if they got permission of the Army. Their actions might have abused the Army's dignity and could cause misunderstandings. Some merchants illegally recruited comfort women by using some
intermediaries such as military reporters or entertainers." (Translated by
Shinji Kakichi)
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