Comfort women were women and girls forced into a prostitution corps created by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The name "comfort women" is a translation of a Japanese name ianfu (). Ianfu is a euphemism for shfu () whose meaning is "prostitute(s)". Estimates vCary as to how many women were involved with numbers ranging from as low as !"""" from some Japanese scholars to as high as #$"""" from some %hinese scholars but the e&act numbers are still being researched and debated. 'any of the women were from (orea %hina and the )hilippines although women from *urma Thailand +ietnam 'alaysia Taiwan Indonesia and other Japanese,occupied territories were used for military "comfort stations". -tations were located in Japan %hina the )hilippines Indonesia then 'alaya Thailand *urma .ew /uinea0ong (ong 'acau and 1rench Indochina. 2ccording to testimony young women from countries under Japanese Imperial control were abducted from their homes. In many cases women were also lured with promises of wor3 in factories or restaurants. 4nce recruited the women were incarcerated in "comfort stations" in foreign lands.Establishment of the %omfort Women -ystem%hinese and 'alayan girls forcibly ta3en from )enang by the Japanese to wor3 as 5comfort girls5 for the troops-tudio portrait of Jan 6uff 450erne ta3en shortly before she her mother and sisters as well as thousands of other 7utch women and children were interned by the Japanese Imperial 2rmy in 2mbarawa. 4ver the following months 450erne along with si& other 7utch women were repeatedly raped day and night by Japanese military personnelJapanese military prostitution'ilitary correspondence of the Japanese Imperial 2rmy shows that the aim of facilitating comfort stations was the prevention of rape crimes committed by Japanese army personnel and thus preventing the rise of hostility among people in occupied areas./iven the well,organi8ed and open nature of prostitution in Japan it was seen as logical that there should be organi8ed prostitution to serve the Japanese 2rmed 1orces. The Japanese 2rmy established the comfort stations to prevent venereal diseases and rape by Japanese soldiers to provide comfort to soldiers and head off espionage. The comfort stations were not actual solutions to the first two problems however. 2ccording to Japanese historian 9oshia3i 9oshimi they aggravated the problems. 9oshimi has asserted "The Japanese Imperial 2rmy feared most that the simmering discontentment of the soldiers could e&plode into a riot and revolt. That is why it provided women."OutlineThe first "comfort station" was established in the Japanese concession in -hanghai in $:;!. Earlier comfort women were Japanese prostitutes who volunteered for such service. 0owever as Japan continued military e&pansion the military found itself short of Japanese volunteers and turned to the local population to coerce women into serving in these stations. 'any women responded to calls for wor3 as factory wor3ers or nurses and did not 3now that they were being pressed into se&ual slavery. In the early stages of the war Japanese authorities recruited prostitutes through conventional means. In urban areas conventional advertising through middlemen was used alongside 3idnapping. 'iddlemen advertised in newspapers circulating in Japan and the Japanese colonies of (orea Taiwan'anchu3uo and %hina. These sources soon dried up especially from Japan. The 'inistry of 1oreign 2ffairs resisted further issuance of travel visas for Japanese prostitutes feeling it tarnished the image of the Japanese Empire. The military turned to acitgeveri= )lanti=nstraat. LTweede (amer vergader=aar :;,$::# !; E"@ nr. $.M;@. Jump up * )oelgeest *art van. "6eport of a study of 7utch government documents on the forced prostitution of 7utch women in the 7utch East Indies during the Japanese occupation." L>nofficial Translation January !# $::#.M;D. Jump up * %hina 7aily !""@,"@,"E;:. Jump up * de *rouwer 2nne,'arie (!""B) L!""BM Supanational Ciminal 0osecution of Se,ual /iolence Intersentia p. D I-*. :",B":B,B;;,:#". Jump up * Tabuchi !""@,";,"$#$. N Jump up toFa b c 450erne !""@.#!. Jump up * DE FGH (!""B). IJKLMNOPQR. STUVW. I-*. :@D,#D:D$B$BE;.#;. N Jump up toFa b 4nishi !""@,";,"D##. Jump up * Jan 6uff,450erne 2Talking 6ea+s2 transcriptabc.net.au#B. Jump up * "%omfort women" 2ustralian War 'emorial#E. Jump up * "2ustralian se& slave see3s apology" 1ebruary $; !""@ The -ydney 'orning 0erald#@. N Jump up toFa b c +6XYZ[B\]^W_`a ()71) (in Japanese) archived from the original on !""@,"E,!D retrieved !""@,";,!; archived from the original on !""@,"$,!D.#D. Jump up * 0irano !""@,"#,!D#:. Jump up * %oop !""E,$!,!;B". Jump up * ,$ 1ebruary !B !""EB$. N Jump up toFa b .elson !""@.B!. Jump up * *roo3 Tim . %ollaborationF Japanese 2gents and Aocal Elites in Wartime %hina (%ambridge 'ass.F 0arvard >niversity )ress !""B) pp. $,$; !#",#DB;. Jump up * %hong,song )a3. 5(wollo3 3wa maech5un L)ower and prostitutionM5 -eoulF In5gansarang $::E.B#. N Jump up toFa b %. -arah -oh. The %omfort WomenF -e&ual +iolence and )ostcolonial 'emory in (orea and Japan p. ;#.BB. Jump up * >.-. 7epartment of War. 6eport .o. #:F Japanese )risoners of War Interrogation on )rostitutionBE. Jump up * %lough )atricia (!""@). The 3ffecti*e Tun. Theoi7ing the Social. 7u3e >niversity )ress. p. $E#. I-*. "D!!;;:!B".B@. Jump up * bOcdefghijkl?cdemnl opqrst?uvw/Kx!yz3!{| }~ $::; BD. Jump up * %. -arah -oh. The %omfort WomenF -e&ual +iolence and )ostcolonial 'emory in (orea and Japan p. $#D.B:. Jump up * %. -arah -oh. The %omfort WomenF -e&ual +iolence and )ostcolonial 'emory in (orea and Japan p. $E".E". Jump up * The comfort women(9eo=a=eongsindae)($:@#)E$. Jump up * (ono $::;.E!. Jump up * "kkfg_f_h " L2nswer to the ntil $::! only two people had 3nown of her secret her late mother and her dead husband. 2fter coming out publicly with her story Aola 6osa decided to write about her war,time e&perience. The result was the boo3 Comfot Woman. 3 Sla*e of 5estin!.In Comfot Woman. 3 Sla*e of 5estin! Aola 6osa provided an achingly straightforward voice to the erstwhile silent and invisible e&istence of 1ilipino comfort women. 2lmost !"" 1ilipino women soon followed 6osaSs e&ample as they decided to reveal themselves and their personal stories for the first timeTnot only to the world but to their families as well. 4ther victims including those from (orea and %hina =oined the 1ilipino women to file a class action lawsuit against the Japanese government. Together they demanded =ustice in the form of a formal apology from the Japanese government? the inclusion of all the war,time atrocities committed by the Japanese into JapanSs school history boo3s? and monetary reparations to compensate for all the abuses and violence committed against the women.0owever the Japanese government denied legal responsibility and refused to pay the victims. Aater responding to the growingpressure of continued protests and appeals by the survivors and their supporters Japan finally set up the 2sian WomenSs 1und(2W1) in $::B to collect money from private Japanese citi8ens and offered them to the victims as Gatonement payments.H 0enson died of a heart attac3 in $::@ a year after her autobiography was published and after she decided to accept the money from the 2W1.-ee also Timeline of )hilippine history Walterina 'ar3ova6eferences %omfort WomanF -lave of 7estiny 'aria 6osa Auna 0ensonF Woman of %ourage (2-2'2 +ol. $$ .o. ; -olidarity )hilippines 2ustralia .etwor3 %pcabrisbane.org JulyO2ugustO-eptember $::@ and )hilippine %enter for Investigative Journalism 'anila retrieved onF $" June !""@ 'aria 6osa Auna 0enson ($:!@ , $::@) 2teneo Aibrary of Women5s Writings (2AIWW) 2teneo de 'anila >niversity )hilippines and 6i8al.Aib.2dmu.edu.ph retrieved onF $" June !""@ %omfort Women -lam Japan 2pology .ewsbits +ol. :.D 6euter and 'IT.edu retrieved onF $" June !""@ /oguingco Aeonor 2rts and 'ind 4pinionIEditorial 'anila *ulletin and 'anila *ulletin 4nlineI'*.com.ph !""$ retrieved onF $" June !""@http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_HensonMaria Rosa Luna Henson: Woman of CourageKASAMA -ol. // No. 0 1 July2August23eptember /445 1 3olidarity 6hilippines Australia Networ%'2.IA2 , 'aria 6osa Auna 0enson died of a heart attac3 at the )asay %ity hospital on the rain,swept night of 2ugust $D $::@. -he was E:.'rs. 0enson burst into the national consciousness in $::! when she bro3e half,a,century5s silence to tal3 about her ordeal as a "comfort woman" in a World War II rape camp. 0er e&ample inspired other women to come out with their own stories belying earlier claims that the Japanese forces did not set up "comfort stations" in the )hilippines as they did in (orea Taiwan and Indonesia.Aola 6osa was an outspo3en intelligent and courageous woman who overcame great odds to become a champion of =ustice for the most secret and silent victims of World War II. 0er widely read autobiography Comfot Woman. Sla*e of 5estin! published by the )hilippine %enter for Investigative Journalism in $::E is a touchingly honest account of her life and times and is the only autobiography ever written by any of the over !""""" se& slaves 3ept by the Japanese in 2sia. Comfot Woman is a finalist in this year5s .ational *oo3 2ward for *est *iography.Aola 6osa wrote Comfot Woman in her own unsteady hand on ruled pad paper using the English she had learned in school. The effort too3 over a year and entailed a great deal of painful recollection of a life that has seen epic suffering. In Comfot Woman Aola 6osa wrote of her own mother5s rape by the wealthy landlord who was to become her father. -he recalled growing up as the hidden illegitimate daughter of a young mother who could barely read or write. *ut the young 6osa managed to do well in a %atholic school in )asay %ity and was in seventhgrade when the war bro3e out.0er ordeal began when she was raped by Japanese soldiers while gathering firewood in what is now 1ort *onifacio. 1earful for her safety her mother brought her to a village in )ampanga where Aola 6osa =oined the 0u3balahap guerrillas gathering food and medicine for them and acting as a courier for messages. While transporting a cartload of guns she was stopped by a Japanese sentry who forcibly too3 her to a hospital in 2ngeles %ity which had been turned into a garrison. There at the age of $# her life as a comfort woman began. 1or nine months until her rescue by 0u3 guerrillas scores of Japanese soldiers raped her everyday.Aola 6osa told no one but her mother of what had been done to her. .ot even the man she later married 3new?her children found out only after she had come out into the open in $::!. 2bandoned by her husband she raised three children on her own wor3ing as a laundrywoman and later as a sweeper in a cigarette factory. -he did not gomad only through faith and the sheer effort of will she said. -he also vowed to remember. To her dying day Aola 6osa had a prodigious memory for dates and events. -he once said that for her remembering was the best revenge.Aola 6osa5s story is one of survival rather than victimhood. In the five years since she went public with her secret she fought hard for =ustice for comfort women =oining marches appearing in %ongress even filing a lawsuit in a To3yo court. -he was independent and outspo3en. -he also had the courage to brea3 away from the ./4s wor3ing on her behalf. When she disagreed with their policies and methods of wor3 she =ust opted out. -he was the first to accept unofficial compensation from the Japanese although she was adamant in the belief that they owed her official indemnity as well.Aola 6osa was buried in the saya with autumn,leaf design that she had made herself and wore to her boo3,launching last year at the historic 1ort -antiago. "2utumn leaves li3e me" she said then with the mere Distor The life of 'aria 6osa 0enson or "Aola 6osa" classically depicts the cruelty of poverty and powerlessness. 9et amidst the sadness of it all Aola 6osa breaths courage. In her autobiography Aola 6osa survivor of Japanese war atrocity leads the readers to visit her life through the boo3 with her own illustrations and vivid descriptions of people and events long gone. 0er story begins as the daughter of the landlordSs illiterate mistress Julia. 6osaSs mother Julia is the eldest of the children who began her Uwor3ingS life as 7on )epe 0ensonSs housemaid despite her protestations. The seeming 3indness of the landlord to help JuliaSs family was not without motive.2 man whose words were command a man who fre(*2A202) 6osa ris3ed her life to inform a passing villager. 2I was in luck that +a! because the gua+s took us +ownstais so we coul+ ha*e some sunshine- The fiel+ fonte+ the steet$ but the &apanese ha+ fence+ it off with babe+ wie so no one coul+ escape- I walke+ close to the steet an+ saw an ol+ man pass b!- 6isface looke+ familia to me$ an+ I knew he li*e+ in ou baio-2 There was not a single soul in the village when the troops arrived. The officer readily suspected 6osa who was in the same room during their planning. -he was dragged to the garrison tied and beaten senselessly.When the Japanese Imperial 2rmy withdrew its troops from the )hilippines 6osa was freed from the garrison and only regained consciousness after two months. 0er recovery was as traumatic as her ordeal. 2M! mothe nuse+ me back to health$ spoon-fee+ing me as if I wee a bab!- I coul+ neithe stan+ no walk- I cawle+ like an infant- I coul+ not focus m! e!es well$ an+ e*e!thing I saw was blue+-2 2fter a remar3able recovery at the age of $D 6osa met 7omingo who later become her husband and father to two daughters. In another twist of fate 7omingo =ust disappeared one day without a word. It was not until nearly a year when she discovered her husbandSs location T in a =ungle with the 0'* an armed group fighting the governmentSs army for land redistribution. The pain of discovery was made more unbearable for two different reasons T 6osa was abducted while buying medicine for their very ill daughter and 3ept for days by 7omingoSs men and secondly 7omingo already had a new woman.If one were an ordinary mortal there is more probability that youSd loose your sanity halfway if you were in Aola6osaSs shoes or wooden clogs for that matter. -he started life painfully with only faith in /od and love for her mother in her heart. -he was stripped of her dignity as a Japanese comfort woman. -he was betrayed by her husband who hid under the shield of the resistance movement. -he single,handedly raised her family. -he mourned she struggled she survived.Aola 6osa started writing her autobiography in $::B two years after she came out in public to protest against Japanese war atrocities. 0er manuscript has already been translated in Japanese by 9u3i -higa,1ugime a professor of contemporary history at (yoto >niversity.%oming out in public as a comfort woman was a most courageous thing to do. 'any people are sympathetic but some are sneering and even suspicious. In 2pril $::; along with other surviving comfort women from the )hilippines and other countries she filed a lawsuit in the To3yo 7istrict %ourt demanding compensation from the Japanese government. 7uring the visit of the Japanese )rime 'inister to the )hilippines in $::# Tomiichi 'urayama brought out the idea of a WomenSs %entre as a form of compensation. >ntil now the Japanese government insists that compensation was already given in the form of reparations to the )hilippines government after WW II.KASAMA -ol. /0 No. / 1 January/0 ?@A> 6+ B :pdated as of //1=/1=>/0 ?@A/ 6+T2%A4*2. %IT9 )hilippines , 2 group of 1ilipino women who were se& slaves for the then Imperial Japanese 2rmy during World War II e&pressed fear at the arrival Thursday of Japanese troops to help with emergency relief operations on the typhoon,hit island Aeyte in the central )hilippines.)ointedly noting their demand for =ustice for the crimes committed against them seven decades ago remains unsettled they also e&pressed fear the abuse they went through may be repeated on the present generation of 1ilipino women in Aeyte.6ichilda E&tremadura e&ecutive director of Aila )ilipina told (yodo .ews by telephone that while they appreciate the 3indness of Japan for sympathi8ing with the victims of supertyphoon 0aiyan the "comfort women" do not welcome the presence of the Japanese troops and their ships."We are allergic to them. We all 3now the Japanese government still owes our lolas (ageing se& slaves). 2s victims of wartime se&ual slaverythe lolas find the presence of Japanese troops a threat to their emotions and to the present generation who might e&perience the abuses again" E&tremadura said."It5s all the more sensitive for the lolas because Aeyte is historical. In fact many of our members are from Aeyte and (many) have all died without getting =ustice" she said.Japan is sending around $$D" personnel from its -elf,7efense 1orces to the )hilippines to provide medical support asu1i B-a&ura, at that ti&e the Vice #hie* o* (ta** o* the (hanghaiC).editionar" Force, who *irst .ro&oted the estalish&ent o* co&*ort stations *or theJa.anese ar&".7here were a..arentl" a nu&er o* reasons *or estalishing the&: Ja.anese &ilitar".ersonnel had ra.ed #hinese ci8ilian wo&en in occu.ied areas on nu&erous occasions,and the &ilitar" ho.ed to .re8ent a worsening o* anti5Ja.anese *eelings on the .art o* the#hinese .eo.leD there was a need to .re8ent the s.read o* 8enereal diseases a&ong o**icers and &en, as otherwise &ilitar" e**ecti8eness would e reducedD and it was also *eared that contact with #hinese ci8ilian wo&en could result in the lea-ing o* &ilitar" secrets.Okamura Yasuji taisho shiryo I: senjo kaisohen, 7o-"o, 197