MacArthur
Document Reports Imperial Japanese Military’s “Sanction” of Comfort Women
Brothels
PUBLISHED
ON AUGUST 15, 2013
“An
August 1, 2013 editorial in the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest
circulation daily, carried the title “Comfort Women Allegations Distort
Japanese History.” The greatest distortion here is the amnesia of an
influential portion of Japanese society in addressing World War II history.”
~ Dennis P. Halpin
The Yomiuri
Shimbun recently published a controversial editorial that challenged
the characterization of comfort women as “sex slaves,” and
suggested that such labels were historically inaccurate. It noted
that the Japanese government could not find official documents proving that the
women were recruited by force.
Dennis
P. Halpin, former House Foreign Relations Committee staff member and current
Visiting Scholar at the US-Korea Institute at SAIS, examines the 1945
report, ”Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces,” published by command
of General MacArthur (declassified in 1992) and compiled by the Allied
Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) of the Supreme Commander for the
Allied Forces (SCAP), which refutes the Japanese government’s claims.
Download
USKI Policy Brief “MacArthur Document
Reports Imperial Japanese Military’s “Sanction” of Comfort Women Brothels,”
by Dennis P. Halpin.
Dennis
P. Halpin is
currently a visiting scholar at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He served as a Peace Corps
volunteer in South Korea, U.S. consul in Pusan, and a House Foreign Affairs
Committee staff member for over twelve years.
