[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   JAPAN APOLOGIZES TO COMFORT WOMEN

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 18, 1995
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, during World War II, the Japanese 
military was quite brutal in its conquests. They raped and pillaged 
their way across Asia. At some point the Japanese became concerned that 
the rapes would provoke a backlash against Japanese troops. Therefore, 
the military established comfort stations, wherever they went--from the 
Korean peninsula to the Burmese mountains--to provide sexual services 
to their soldiers. Over 100,000 young women, mostly Korean, were taken 
from their homes and forced to serve in these camps as comfort women. 
They were repeatedly raped, often by dozens of soldiers per day.
  As a result of their bondage, many suffer long-term effects of 
venereal diseases and psychological disorders. In these cultures, rape 
and prostitution carry such a stigma, that many of the comfort women 
may never come forward due to the shame associated with the 
degradation. Those who came forward did so after many years and risked 
ostracism by their families to do so.
  Until 5 years ago, Japan flat out denied the existence of these 
comfort women. Even after 1992, when they owned up to these war crimes, 
the Japanese Government denied any legal responsibility to the women 
involved. Last week, however, Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama 
reached out to these women, announcing that Japan will send official 
letters of apology to the surviving Korean victims, make financial 
reparations, and provide medical care for the abuse that they endured. 
I commend the Japanese Government for taking such strong action on 
behalf of these women. I hope that Japan's acknowledgement of their 
responsibility will aid the healing for the victims.
Japan to Apologize to ``Comfort Women''--Prime Minister Plans Letter to 
                              WWII Victims

                             (By T.R. Reid)

       Tokyo.--Facing serious political trouble in a national 
     election 10 days away, Japan's pacifist Prime Minister 
     Tomiichi Murayama has made a daring decision: He plans to 
     send official letters expressing ``humble apologies'' to 
     hundreds of victims of Japanese brutality during World War 
     II.
       Chief Cabinet Secretary Kozo Igarashi said the unusual plan 
     would be announced next week--just before the July 23 
     election for the upper house of the national Diet, or 
     parliament--as part of a broader plan of aid and compensation 
     for so-called ``comfort women'' in several Asian nations.
       ``Comfort women'' is the term used here to describe the 
     hundreds of thousands of women who were forced to serve as 
     sex slaves for Japanese soldiers fighting in various Asian 
     nations during the war. About 800 to 1,000 of these women are 
     believed to be alive today, and each one will receive a 
     personal letter from the prime minister, Igarashi said, as 
     well as cash and medical care.
       If Asian nations accept the step as a sincere Japanese 
     apology, the letters might help alleviate lingering 
     bitterness toward Japan in the region. The forced 
     prostitution--which Japan has only acknowledged in the past 
     five years--is one of the cruelest memories of Japan's harsh 
     colonial rule over much of east Asia in the 1940s.
       In domestic political terms, though, the move is a gamble, 
     because any form of apology for World War II has proven 
     controversial here.
       But it is something Murayama--long a bitter critic of 
     Japan's aggression in the war--believes in personally. And 
     the prime minister is in such hot water politically that a 
     dramatic move may be worth a try.
       The coming election will choose 126 members of the Diet's 
     upper house. Because the upper house has only limited powers, 
     the elections for half its seats every three years are often 
     meaningless. For Murayama, however, this one could prove 
     momentous.
       Polls and pundits suggest that Murayama's Socialist Party 
     could lose up to three-quarters of the 41 seats it has at 
     stake. In normal times, Japanese political tradition would 
     demand that the chairman of the losing party resign to take 
     responsibility. And if Murayama were to step down as party 
     leader, he would give up the prime minister's spot as well.
       Even if voting day turns into disaster for the Socialists, 
     Murayama might avoid the worst-case scenario. The 
     grandfatherly 71-year-old heads an unlikely liberal-
     conservative coalition government. The parties can't seem to 
     agree on a possible replacement, so Murayama clings to his 
     job despite meager approval ratings.
       Still, a big loss on election day would presumably weaken 
     him even more.
       There are some 20 parties competing in the election 
     campaign. They range from major political forces like the 
     Liberal Democratic Party--the most conservative of the
      major parties--and the reform-minded New Frontier Party to 
     tiny, ad hoc groupings such as the UFO Party, the 
     Refreshing New Party and the Sports and Peace Party, 
     headed by a pro wrestler.
       The campaign has failed to grab the attention of the 
     public; voter apathy is so broad that many experts think the 
     turnout will drop below 50 percent for the first time in a 
     national election.
       All parties seem to be presenting similar, if vague, plans 
     to revive the sputtering economy. The issue agenda is so 
     blank that more than two dozen of the candidates around the 
     country are TV, movie or sports personalities hoping to trade 
     on their famous names.
       In those circumstances, it could make good political sense 
     for Murayama to offer his bold proposal on the comfort women.
       Igarashi said the government will announce next week the 
     creation of a fund-raising campaign called ``The Asian Peace 
     and Friendship Fund for Women,'' which will collect private 
     donations plus government money to provide compensation and 
     treatment for any survivor of the sex-slave platoons.
       When these funds are distributed to the surviving comfort 
     women, they will be sent with a letter, signed by the prime 
     minister, expressing ``humble apologies'' for the suffering 
     the Imperial Japanese Army caused the women half a century 
     ago. The apology, Igarashi said, will be expressed in highly 
     respectful, subservient language--a linguistic form of 
     groveling.
       The proposal for a fund-raising campaign was set forth 
     tentatively last month. Some of the surviving women praised 
     the idea, as did the government of South Korea, the nation 
     where the largest number of survivors live. Others said the 
     plan was inadequate.
       But the idea of a personal letter from Japan's head of 
     state has not been broached here previously. Igarashi 
     revealed it today in a meeting with foreign reporters. His 
     goal may be to have the proposal for a ``humble apology'' 
     letter reported widely overseas, giving the letter some 
     quality of a fait accompli.
       But Murayama and his political advisers may have decided 
     that a battle with conservatives on this point could be a 
     political plus in the days before the national election.
       Last month, when Murayama pushed for passage of a formal 
     parliamentary resolution of ``deep remorse'' for Japan's 
     aggression, his efforts seemed to shore up his standing with 
     the public. Although veterans' groups and nationalist 
     conservatives are bitterly opposed, opinion polls here 
     repeatedly show that most people agree Japan should apologize 
     for its role in the war.
       The need for an apology is more broadly accepted in the 
     case of the comfort women than for other Japanese actions. 
     But there are still some politicians who say Japan's use of 
     sex slaves was not different from what other armies tend to 
     do.
     

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