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)
Drawing on legal reforms across different countries and cultural contexts, the author, a legal scholar, examines how rape myths continue to shape sexual assault laws and legal outcomes and proposes measures for reform.
Ramona Albin
How has our understanding of “coercion” in forced labor and the Japanese military “Comfort Women” system changed over time? This essay examines the multilayered nature of these issues, moving beyond nationalist narratives and historical denialism toward a broader understanding through the lens of universal human rights.
Jie-Hyun Lim
This article examines the Japanese military “comfort women” issue through the lens of women’s human rights, extending the discussion to structural violence against women, social exclusion, and economic inequality. It further calls for victim-centered social restructuring and redistribution.
Joohee Kim
Asian Women’s Shelter’s executive director shares how the organization began and how it works to serve “not either/or, but all” communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Orchid Pusey
Attorney Sanghee Lee, the head of the Lawyers for the Democratic Society Task Force addressing the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issue
Sanghee Lee
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
An interview with peace activist Haecho on the torture and sexual violence Palestinians endure during the war and the power of solidarity.
Haecho
The surge in sexual violence documented by the 2026 UN report, Conflict-related sexual violence: Report of the Secretary-General and the recommendations for advancing universal human rights and peace.
Elli Kim
Exploring the “Comfort Women” through Miji Ih’s three-part project Münder and the exhibition Mangshitori
Miji Ih
Testimony and publishing activities concerning wartime sexual violence and “Comfort Women” carried out by the Association of Returnees from China (Chukiren), which atoned for their perpetrators’ actions in postwar Japanese society.
Kim Su-yong
