Comfort Women

            I don’t really see how people could claim that sexual slavery did not occur when a victim who was directly affected testifies that it did.  It seems very unlikely that a 90 year old woman or anybody else that has come forward would have much to gain from lying about an issue like this or put in the energy to protest if what they said was not true.  Furthermore, one does not ask a group of rape survivors if they were actually raped or ask a group of Holocaust survivors if the Holocaust actually happened.  To me, it is strange that it is so readily accepted when Japanese authors cite the experiences of people (who clearly could not have known about sexual slavery as well as the actual people forced into sexual slavery) as evidence against the statements of a group of women who say that they were forced into sexual slavery.

            Given this, I feel that the primary action that needs to be taken by the government is a formal, sincere apology.  The apology would serve two important functions.  First, it would restore the dignity of the victims as the government would acknowledge the status of the victims and establish that the fault lies with themselves and not the women or with others.  Second, an apology would show that the government would not repeat the action and that the current government is held to a higher standard than in the past.  Thus, an apology is the most important step to take.