Comfort Woman : a Filipina's Story of Prostitution and Slavery Under ...

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Introduction
no American would be tried under such a system.”)
The Japanese government has continually denied legal responsibility
for its unprecedented organized crime that was planned and
committed by the Japanese Imperial Forces in cooperation with the
Japanese government. In July 1995, in order to allay worldwide criticism,
the government set up the Asian Women’s Fund for the purpose
of raising money from the private sector to be used for compensating
former “comfort women.” This scheme has clearly failed, as most of
the victims have refused to accept such “compensation” without Japan’s
offi cial apology. Japan also rejected the 1995 Coomaraswamy Report,
which recommended to the UN Commission on Human Rights that
the Japanese government properly acknowledge its responsibility for
the plight of the former “comfort women.” In August 1998, the Mc-
Dugal Report to the same UN commission also urged Japan to correct
its policy by offi cially compensating the victims. Yet the Japanese
government still keeps turning a deaf ear to world opinion.
Such an irresponsible and unconscionable attitude by the Japanese
government has strengthened the case of former “comfort women”
from Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other
nations, rather than silencing their voices. Their courageous acts
have encouraged numerous supporters all over the world, in particular
among feminist groups, including those in Japan. Without
the continuous efforts of these victims to keep the issue alive and
without the support of women and men from all over the world, the
plan for setting up the International Criminal Court would not have
materialized. This plan is still only partially realized. But the world
can no longer ignore the voices of these women.