The Clock Is Ticking: 68 Years of Denial

[ismnotwasm]

Yi Ok-seon, 80, in a shelter for former sex slaves near Seoul, South Korea, wipes off an old photo of herself on April 15, 2007. (Photo: Seokyong Lee / The New York Times)
August 15 holds a special place in the memory of many people. This year's anniversary marked the 68th year since the historic V-J (Victory over Japan) Day for some and Independence Day for others. But it also marked 68 years of suffering for a group of women who, now in their late 70s or early 80s, continuously seek compensation and apology from Japan.

From 1932 to 1945, as many as 200,000 women were "recruited" from Korea, China, Indonesia and other parts of Asia (including Japan) to "comfort" Japanese soldiers as sex slaves. Koreans, whose country was colonized by Japan, were easily targeted, making up 51.8 percent of the victims. Thirty-six percent were from China.

This issue of the so-called "comfort women" - a debatable term, according to some activists - is a hot topic largely in Asia and within international human rights communities. In July 2013, however, it aroused the city of Glendale in southern California, when the city officials decided to install the "Peace Monument."q

When the news of the bronze monument of a teenaged girl wearing Korean traditional hanbok got around, the response was quick. Many Japanese-Americans protested this installation, sending emails against the "phony propaganda" and taking to the streets of the city that praised prostitution. Such furious outcry mirrored how Japanese hardliners reacted when the first Peace Monument was installed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/18618-the-clock-is-ticking-68-years-of-denial