Reflecting on and exploring how to record, remember, and carry forward the history of the “Comfort Women” beyond the framework of legal remedies.
Editorial Team of Webzine <Kyeol>
Legal experts and “Comfort Women” movement activists reflect on the 34-year legal struggle to resolve the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” issue.
The Berlin Statue of Peace, established in 2020, marked an important milestone in the “Comfort Women” memorial movement as the first public memorial of its kind in Europe.
Jung-Hwa Han
The solidarity practice of Japanese citizens who finally realized the exhibition of the “Statue of Peace” through the “Non-Freedom of Expression Exhibition”—more than a decade in the making.
Kohei Kurahashi (倉橋耕平)
A story of Stintino’s commitment to justice and humanity, its focus on raising awareness and finding solutions to end violence against women, and the arrival of the Statue of Peace in the town.
Giuseppina De Nicola
As of now, one victim of these atrocities remains alive in Timor-Leste. While the passage of time may have dimmed the memories of these atrocities, the quest for justice and accountability remains as relevant as ever.
Feliciano da Costa Araujo
Attorney Sanghee Lee, the head of the Lawyers for the Democratic Society Task Force addressing the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issue
Sanghee Lee
The male-centric society in Japan is the root cause of the “Comfort Women” issue. Ultimately, I am convinced that this structural problem is why the Japanese National Diet has been unable to enact legislation on its own.
Totsuka Etsuro (戶塚悅朗)
All things considered, Japan must bear responsibility as a nation. To reignite the movement, a civic movement aimed at achieving legislative resolution was needed. In December 1996, the “Gathering for Legislative Resolution of the “Comfort Women” Issue” was established, with Attorney Tsuchiya Koken as the Chairman, Professor Arai Shinichi from Surugadai University as the Vice Chairman, and Arimitsu Ken serving as the Secretariat Liaison.
The Philippines’ ninth Periodic Report on the implementation of the CEDAW cites the Safe Spaces Act and the Anti-Mail Order Spouse Act, but there is no mention of the “Comfort Women.” When asked, the Philippine Commission on Women gives sympathetic statements
BERNARD KARGANILLA
