comfort women

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'Through Her Life, We Have Seen What Human Dignity Is'

Gil Won-ok, an advocate for so-called comfort women, dies at 96

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Korean women were forced into sexual slavery by Japan during WWII. In the 1990s, about 240 of these so-called "comfort women" publicly identified themselves. Seven of them are still alive—and until her Sunday death, Gil Won-ok had been number eight. "Through her life,...

Japan Slams 'Unacceptable' Ruling in 'Comfort Women' Case

South Korean court orders country to compensate women forced into sexual slavery

(Newser) - In a seven-year court case that has outlived almost all of the women affected by it, Japan has been ordered to compensate so-called "comfort women" who were forced into sexual slavery by its military during World War II. The Seoul High Court in South Korea overturned a lower court'...

Surviving WWII Sex Slave 'Dumbfounded' by Ruling

S. Korean judge rejects earlier ruling on compensation for 'comfort women'

(Newser) - In January, Amnesty International praised a South Korean court ruling as the first time Japan had been held accountable by a court for forcing hundreds of thousands of women and girls into sexual slavery during World War II. There was shock and dismay Wednesday as another judge in the same...

Harvard Academic Claims 'Comfort Women' Chose to Be Sex Workers

J. Mark Ramseyer's article condemned by governments, historians

(Newser) - Historians agree that Japan forced many thousands of women into sexual slavery in World War II, euphemistically calling them "comfort women." Harvard law professor J. Mark Ramseyer, however, has caused an uproar by claiming that the women were actually sex workers who had chosen to work in military...

Court Orders Japan to Compensate WW2 Sex Slaves

Tokyo refuses to accept 'comfort women' ruling

(Newser) - A South Korean court has ordered Japan to pay compensation to a dozen women who were forced into sexual slavery by its military during World War II—but seven of them have died since the lawsuit was filed in 2013, and the survivors may not live to see the money....

Japan Has Big Issue With Statue of a Kneeling Man

Tokyo questions whether bronze figure in South Korean garden represents Shinzo Abe

(Newser) - A pair of new statues in South Korea of a man kneeling in front of a girl symbolizing a victim of sexual slavery by Japan's wartime military is the latest subject of diplomatic sensitivity between the countries, with Tokyo's government spokesperson questioning whether the male figure represents the...

Osaka Mayor to San Francisco: We're Done

Japanese city outraged at statue depicting 'comfort women' during WWII

(Newser) - San Francisco has nearly 20 "sister cities" worldwide, fostering goodwill through cultural, educational, and economic exchanges. Osaka was its first, but after more than 60 years—and months of the Japanese city threatening to cut ties —it looks like the split is happening. "I have arrived at...

S. Korea: Parts of WWII Sex Slave Deal Were Kept Secret

Panel reviewed 2015 'comfort women' agreement with Japan, found it lacking

(Newser) - Exactly two years ago, Japan and South Korea agreed that if Japan did what it had promised, the issue of WWII sex slaves—or "comfort women," forced to work in Japanese brothels for soldiers—would be "finally and irreversibly resolved." Maybe not. A panel put together...

S. Korea: Japan's Gripes Over Trump Dinner 'Inappropriate'

Prawns, a guest rankled Japan

(Newser) - President Trump was on Tuesday served beef ribs with gravy that had 360-year-old soy sauce as an ingredient during South Korea's state dinner, and it came served with two sides of controversy. PRI reports it was the first state visit by a US president in 25 years, so South...

First Film Clip Emerges of Japan's 'Comfort Women'

South Korean researchers found it in the US National Archives

(Newser) - It's just 18 seconds long, but a new video released by South Korean researchers makes history for the worst of reasons. The clip shows Korean "comfort women" held as sex slaves by the Japanese military, reports the BBC . It's believed to be the first such film clip...

S. Korea 'Comfort Woman' Statue Angers Japan

Tokyo recalls ambassador, suspends economic talks

(Newser) - Japan announced Friday that it would recall its ambassador to South Korea and suspend economic talks in response to the placing of a "comfort woman" statue representing wartime sex slaves in front of its consulate in the Korean port city of Busan, the AP reports. Both Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine...

Issue of WWII Sex Slaves May Be 'Finally Resolved'

But the wording of Japan, S. Korea's deal is a little vague

(Newser) - South Korea and Japan say they've reached a deal to resolve a disturbing legacy of World War II—the issue of sex slaves, or "comfort women," forced to work in Japanese brothels for soldiers. An estimated 200,000 women, many of them Korean, were forced to take...

Man, 80, Sets Self on Fire Over WWII Brothels

He had joined protesters demanding apology from Japan for 'comfort women'

(Newser) - For more than 20 years, South Korean activists have organized weekly protests in front of Seoul's Japanese Embassy to demand an apology for its women and girls who were used as sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War II, reports the AP . But while those demonstrations have...

Pope Meets Korean WWII Sex Slaves

Francis calls for peace on last day of Asian visit

(Newser) - Pope Francis wrapped up his first trip to Asia today by challenging Koreans—from the North and the South—to reject the "mindset of suspicion and confrontation" that clouds their relations and find new ways to forge peace on the war-divided peninsula. In a poignant moment at the start...

Japanese Politician: WWII Sex Slaves Were 'Necessary'

Says soldiers needed them to rest

(Newser) - Controversial Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has defended Japan's World War II policy of forcing women to have sex with troops as a necessity of war, the BBC reports. "In the circumstances in which bullets are flying like rain and wind, the soldiers are running around at the risk...

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