[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS OF SEX SLAVES--``COMFORT WOMEN''--OF WORLD WAR 
                                   II

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 2015

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the unresolved issue 
of the World War II sex slaves. Also known as ``comfort women,'' these 
200,000 women from Korea, China, the Philippines, Burma, Thailand, 
Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and East Timor were kidnapped and 
sexually enslaved by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
  These young women were coerced and suffered serious physical, 
emotional, and psychological damages as a result of their ordeal. On 
the solemn occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the end of WWII, the 
survivors of this horrific ordeal are still seeking their long overdue 
justice from the Government of Japan.
  Today, we have one of these survivors in Washington, D.C. Her name is 
Yongsoo Lee. She has become the voice of justice, peace, and 
reconciliation. In 1944, 16-year-old Lee was forcibly taken to Taiwan, 
where she was victimized by multiple Japanese soldiers every day for a 
year. Her suffering was unimaginable and unspeakable. Sadly, she was 
not alone in this nightmare. And yet, out of the 200,000 of her 
sisters, today, she is one out of a handful of survivors from across 
the Asia-Pacific still alive.
  When the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses a Joint Meeting 
of Congress on April 29, he has the opportunity to do right by these 
women. He can make a full, unequivocal, and formal apology on behalf of 
the Japanese government.
  In 2007, in the very same chamber the Prime Minister will be issuing 
his address, the House of Representatives sent a profound message to 
the Japanese government by unanimously passing House Resolution 121, 
which I authored. The resolution called on the Japanese government to 
formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility 
in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' 
coercion of young women into sexual slavery; publicly refute any claims 
that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the ``comfort women'' 
never occurred; and educate current and future generations about this 
horrible crime. We are still waiting for their government to comply.
  Time is critical. Today, out of 200,000 survivors, there are fewer 
than 100 surviving women across the Asia-Pacifc. Most of these women 
are in their 80s. They have been denied justice for too long.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be in the House chamber when Prime Minister Abe 
delivers his address. Ms. Lee will attend as my guest. Both of us hope 
the Prime Minister will finally, and firmly, apologize, and commit to 
educating the future generation honestly and humbly. Ms. Lee and her 
sisters deserve no less.

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