The Kono statement refers to the statement of 4 August 1993 issued by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yōhei Kōno after the conclusion of a government study that showed that the Imperial Japanese Army forced women (known as ” comfort women “) to work in brothels during the Second World War .

Description

In this statement, Kono acknowledges that “the Japanese army of the time was involved, directly or indirectly, in the establishment and management of” comfort stations “” and also that “the recruitment of” comfort women “was conducted mainly by private recruiters, acting in response to the demand of the military ” . He adds that “in many cases these women were recruited against their will by persuasion and coercion, etc.” ” And that ” sometimes, administrative / military personnel directly involved in the recruitment ” and that these women ” lived in misery at comfort stations in a coercive atmosphere ” 1 .

His subsequent call for a historical and educational research became the basis for treating the subject of forced prostitution in textbooks 2 . This has also led to the creation of the Asian Women’s Fund  (in) that helped and supported women forced into prostitution during the war 3 .

Reviews

The statement was criticized by several conservatives in Japan 4 . It is still debated whether the statement asserted that the constraint was used directly by the Japanese Imperial Army when recruiting and detaining women because recruitment was supposed to be conducted mainly by private recruiting agents (Korean and Japanese). 5 . Shinzo Abe , during his first term as prime minister in 2007, said he did not believe that women have been forced by the Japanese military to serve in military brothels 6 .

Overview

A five-member study team, including Ikuhiko Hata , chaired by former Attorney General Keiichi Tadaki ( 但 木 敬 一? ) , Studied Kono’s statement. A report titled “The Details of Japan-South Korea Trade in the Problem of Comfort Women ” was submitted to the Japanese Parliament on June 20, 2014 7 ; Yohei Kono then immediately issued a proclamation confirming the report’s findings, saying that there was nothing for him to add or remove, and everything in the report was right 8 .

References

( In ) This article is partially or entirely from the Wikipedia article in English entitled ” Kono Statement ” ( see the list of authors ) .

  1. ↑ ( in ) Reiji Yoshida, ” Asahi Shimbun allowed on errors in past ‘comfort women’ stories [ archive ] “, The Japan Times, August 5, 2014
  2. ↑ ( in ) Midori Wakakuwa, Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow, ” Backlash Against Gender Equality After 2000 ,” in Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow, Transforming Japan: How Feminism and Diversity Are Making a Difference , Feminist Press at CUNY, March 15, 2011, p . 419. ( ISBN  978-1-55861-700-1 )
  3. ↑ ( in ) Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Kazuhiko Togo, East Asia’s Haunted Present: Historical Memories and the Resurgence of Nationalism: Historical Memories and the Resurgence of Nationalism , ABC-CLIO, 30 June 2008, p. 148. ( ISBN  978-0-313-35613-1 )
  4. ↑ ( in ) Julian Ryall, ” Japan May revised ‘comfort women’ apology [ archive ] ,” Deutsche Welle, February 25, 2014
  5. ↑ ( en ) Jeff Kingston, Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change since the 1980s , John Wiley & Sons, May 30, 2012 p. 189. ( ISBN  978-1-118-31506-4 )
  6. ↑ ( in ) Colin Joyce, ” Japanese PM denies wartime ‘comfort women’ Were forced [ archive ] “, The Telegraph, March 3, 2007
  7. ↑ ( in ) details of Exchanges Between Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Regarding the Comfort Women Issue – From the Drafting of the Kono Statement to the Asian Women’s Fund – [ archive ] , Minister’s Official Residence Premium (Japan) , 20 June 2014 [PDF]
  8. ↑ ( in ) Japan’s Foreign Policy Options Following Asahi’s “Comfort Women” Retraction [ archive ] . Nippon Communications Foundation, October 9, 2014