This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/17/japan-mayor-sex-slaves
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Japanese mayor's sex slaves comments condemned by US | Japanese mayor's sex slaves comments condemned by US |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A mayor in Japan has been condemned by the US government for declaring that sex slaves known as "comfort women" were a necessity during the second world war – at the same time as China has told its TV studios to tone down anti-Japanese storylines related to the period. | A mayor in Japan has been condemned by the US government for declaring that sex slaves known as "comfort women" were a necessity during the second world war – at the same time as China has told its TV studios to tone down anti-Japanese storylines related to the period. |
| Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, stood by his remarks that the Japanese military's wartime practice of forcing Asian women into prostitution was necessary to maintain discipline and provide relaxation for soldiers. He has claimed that other countries' armies did the same and Japan is being unfairly singled out. | Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, stood by his remarks that the Japanese military's wartime practice of forcing Asian women into prostitution was necessary to maintain discipline and provide relaxation for soldiers. He has claimed that other countries' armies did the same and Japan is being unfairly singled out. |
| The US state department said Hashimoto's comments were outrageous and offensive. Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels. While some other second world war armies had military brothels, Japan is the only country accused of such widespread, organised sexual slavery. | The US state department said Hashimoto's comments were outrageous and offensive. Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels. While some other second world war armies had military brothels, Japan is the only country accused of such widespread, organised sexual slavery. |
| Hashimoto said his lack of sensitivity to America's perception of prostitution might have caused outrage after his suggestion that US troops based in southern Japan should visit local adult entertainment venues to reduce sex crime. | Hashimoto said his lack of sensitivity to America's perception of prostitution might have caused outrage after his suggestion that US troops based in southern Japan should visit local adult entertainment venues to reduce sex crime. |
| "If there is one big mistake I made, that might have been my lack of understanding of culture behind the US sex industry if you mention adult entertainment in the US everyone thinks of prostitution," Hashimoto said. "I admit that my international sensitivity was quite poor when I had to operate beyond national borders." | "If there is one big mistake I made, that might have been my lack of understanding of culture behind the US sex industry if you mention adult entertainment in the US everyone thinks of prostitution," Hashimoto said. "I admit that my international sensitivity was quite poor when I had to operate beyond national borders." |
| Hashimoto said that on a recent visit to the southern island of Okinawa he suggested to the US commander there that the troops make use of the legal sex industry. More than half of about 50,000 US troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact are on Okinawa, where base-related crime has long triggered anti-US military sentiment. | Hashimoto said that on a recent visit to the southern island of Okinawa he suggested to the US commander there that the troops make use of the legal sex industry. More than half of about 50,000 US troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact are on Okinawa, where base-related crime has long triggered anti-US military sentiment. |
| US officials rejected his proposal. "That goes without saying," Pentagon press secretary George Little said. In a tweet on Wednesday, Mike Honda, a Democrat who has urged Japan to take responsibility for wartime sex slavery, called Hashimoto's remarks on sex slavery "contemptible and repulsive" and demanded Japan's government "apologise for this atrocity". | |
| US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the trafficking of women for sexual purposes during that era was "a grave human rights violation of enormous proportions. We hope that Japan will continue to work with its neighbours to address this and other issues arising from the past and cultivate relationships that allow them to move forward," Psaki said. | US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the trafficking of women for sexual purposes during that era was "a grave human rights violation of enormous proportions. We hope that Japan will continue to work with its neighbours to address this and other issues arising from the past and cultivate relationships that allow them to move forward," Psaki said. |
| Hashimoto's comments came amid continuing criticism of earlier pledges by Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to revise past apologies for wartime atrocities. On Monday, a photograph was published in Japanese newspapers showing Abe posing in a fighter jet with the number 731 – which belonged to a notorious Japanese unit that performed chemical and biological experiments on Chinese. That triggered criticism in Beijing about a lack of sensitivity. | |
| "Japan's far-right politicians have lost their minds," South Korea's JoongAng Daily said in an editorial on Thursday, adding that Abe and Hashimoto "have unabashedly brought up the ghosts of Japan's wartime past and irked neighbours that still bear bitter memories of its military aggression". | "Japan's far-right politicians have lost their minds," South Korea's JoongAng Daily said in an editorial on Thursday, adding that Abe and Hashimoto "have unabashedly brought up the ghosts of Japan's wartime past and irked neighbours that still bear bitter memories of its military aggression". |
| Separately in China, the television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before the second world war and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. | Separately in China, the television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before the second world war and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. |
| Wartime atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in the country between 1937 and 1945 are taught to every Chinese school child and are a staple of television dramas. But Chinese viewers have taken to social media to complain about the ridiculous plots in the anti-Japan dramas, including one show in which heroic Chinese split Japanese soldiers in half with their hands, something shown in graphic detail. | Wartime atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in the country between 1937 and 1945 are taught to every Chinese school child and are a staple of television dramas. But Chinese viewers have taken to social media to complain about the ridiculous plots in the anti-Japan dramas, including one show in which heroic Chinese split Japanese soldiers in half with their hands, something shown in graphic detail. |
| Another features a Chinese archer who can shoot multiple arrows in one shot, killing several Japanese soldiers at the same time. | Another features a Chinese archer who can shoot multiple arrows in one shot, killing several Japanese soldiers at the same time. |
| "The anti-Japan war is a great act of heroism performed by the Chinese people against the invaders, and is a valuable resource for film and television creativity," television watchdog official Wang Weiping told the official People's Daily. "Recently some of this creativity has shown a lack of seriousness, creating lots of nonsense, not respecting history and being overly entertaining which has had a bad effect on society which must be corrected." | "The anti-Japan war is a great act of heroism performed by the Chinese people against the invaders, and is a valuable resource for film and television creativity," television watchdog official Wang Weiping told the official People's Daily. "Recently some of this creativity has shown a lack of seriousness, creating lots of nonsense, not respecting history and being overly entertaining which has had a bad effect on society which must be corrected." |
| The regulator has demanded that television stations re-evaluate their war dramas and "rectify" those which are "too entertaining" or pull them entirely from their schedules if such edits are impossible. | The regulator has demanded that television stations re-evaluate their war dramas and "rectify" those which are "too entertaining" or pull them entirely from their schedules if such edits are impossible. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe. |