A civil war fought for control of China between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party. It unfolded in two major phases, from 1927 to 1937 and from 1945 to 1949. The Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, ultimately prevailed, forcing Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government to retreat to Taiwan. The Communist Party took control of mainland China and established the People’s Republic of China, while the Republic of China continued to govern Taiwan.

Also known as the Treaty of Peace with Japan, it formally ended the state of war between Japan and most of the Allied powers, terminated the Allied occupation, restored Japan’s sovereignty, and established provisions concerning compensation and other postwar settlements. The treaty was signed by forty-nine countries on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco and entered into force on April 28, 1952. China was not invited because of disagreement over whether the Republic of China or the People’s Republic of China represented the Chinese people. Korea was also excluded amid disagreement over whether South Korea or North Korea represented the Korean people. Italy was likewise not a signatory. As the Cold War intensified, the treaty increasingly reflected anti-communist strategic priorities rather than a comprehensive effort to hold Japan accountable for its wartime aggression. Consequently, several countries that had suffered directly from Japanese invasion and colonial rule were excluded from the negotiations and signing. The treaty also failed to establish a thorough settlement of Japan’s responsibility to provide reparations for war crimes and colonial rule.

Published in 2013 by Park Yu-ha, a professor at Sejong University, the book ‘Comfort Women of the Empire‘ presents an analysis of the Japanese Military ´Comfort Women´ issue from an empire-colony perspective. The book caused controversy for describing the Korean ´Comfort Women´ as the “Comfort Women of the Empire” and interpreting that they had comradeship with the Japanese Army. In June 2014, nine victims residing in the House of Sharing, a residential facility for the Japanese Military ´Comfort Women´ victims, filed for an injunction against the publication of the book and also filed a libel suit against the author, Professor Park Yu-ha. In February 2015, the court partially approved the injunction against the publication of the book, citing that the book cannot be published, sold, distributed, or advertised unless 34 passages from the book were deleted. As a result, the second edition of the book was published with the 34 passages redacted. Meanwhile, in January 2016, the court partially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the damage claim suit filed by the nine victims, declaring that the plaintiffs be compensated with a total of 90 million won (10 million won for each plaintiffs). The criminal proceedings is pending at the Supreme Court as of September 2020, after the declaration of an acquittal in the first trial and a monetary penalty in the second trial.

The Association of Returnees from China (中国帰還者連絡会, Chūgoku Kikansha Renraku Kai, commonly abbreviated as Chūkiren) was established on September 24, 1957, by former soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army who had been repatriated to Japan after being detained as war criminals at the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre in China. During their detention, they underwent intensive political reeducation by the Chinese Communist Party. A year after returning to Japan, they formed the organization with the aim of promoting friendship between Japan and China and contributing to peace. Its members publicly testified about wartime atrocities, including those associated with Unit 731, the Japanese military “Comfort Women” system, and the Nanjing Massacre. They often faced fierce opposition from Japanese nationalists and militarists, who denounced them as communists or claimed that they had been “brainwashed” by the Chinese government. As its members advanced in age, the organization was dissolved in 2002.

The AMA Museum in Taiwan is dedicated to the history of the “Comfort Women.” It opened in Taipei in 2016 with public support and the efforts of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation (TWRF). “Ama” means “grandmother” in Taiwanese and refers to Taiwan’s elderly “Comfort Women” survivors.