Military sexual slavery under the Showa Era : the "Comfort Women" system

The expression "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese term ianfu (慰安婦). Behind this administrative euphemism lies one of the largest systems of institutionalized sexual slavery during the Showa era, primarily between 1932 and 1945.

Four Korean comfort women after they were liberated by the US China Allied Forces - Songshan, Yunnan Province, China on September 7, 1944. Source: The Hankyoreh website at https://tinyurl.com/y4dddxjn. Photo by Charles H. Hatfield, US 164th Signal Photo Company. Note: The original photo is available in the National Archives Catalog at https://tinyurl.com/yyumu88z.

A state system : the logistics of exploitation

Contrary to the idea that "comfort stations" (ianjo) were independent private enterprises, historical research demonstrates that they were an infrastructure overseen and regulated by the Japanese military apparatus. The Japanese state's responsability was confirmed by the discovery of military documents in the 1990s (notably by historian Yoshiaki Yoshimi), contradicting the gorvernment's initial version which denied any direct involvement.

• Military objectives : authorities officially justified these centers as a means to prevent mass rapes of civilians in occupied territories (such as during the Nanking Massacre in 1937), limit the spread of venereal diseases among soldiers, and maintain troop "morale". In pratice, this system institutionalized sexual exploitation on a massive scale.

• Recruitment and coercion : methods of enrollment varied. However, archives and testimonies show a systemic use of deception (promises of jobs in factories or infirmaries), coercion by colonial authorities, and, in certain occupied territories (China, Phillipines), outright abduction.

• Profile of victims : the majority of women were from Korea, then a Japanese colony (1910-1945). However, the system extended to Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Dutch and Australian women.

Japanese soldiers waiting near a comfort station - Source: Digital Museum: The Comfort Women Issue and the Asian Women’s Fund website at https://tinyurl.com/y6skq9hv. Photo by Japanese journalist Murase Moriyasu.

Estimates vary between 50 000 and 200 000 victims. The absence of official registers, destroyed by the Japanese army at the end of the war, explains this wide range.

1991 : breaking the silence

For decades after 1945, this history remained largely absent from official narratives due to two major factors :

• social taboo : in a Korean society heavily influenced by Neo-Confucianism, survivors feared stigma and family rejection ;

• Cold War Geopolitics : the 1965 normalization treaty between South Korea and Japon overlookes individual crimes in favor of global economic aid. Japan paid $500 million (grants and loans), considering all claims settled.

The turning point occured on August 14, 1991 when Kim Hak Sun became the first Korean survivor to testify publicly under her real name. This courageous act transformed a private trauma into a major international diplomatic cause.

Kim Hak Sun, photo de MBC PD수첩, CC BY 3.0

The Wednesay Demonstration : a historic struggle

Since January 8, 1992, survivors and their supporters (notably the Korean Council) have organized he "Wednesday Demonstration" in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Their demands remain constant :

• formal recognition of Japan's legal and governmental responsability ;

• official apologies validated by a parliamentary resolution ;

• reparations considered as legal war damages rather than humanitarian aid.

The "Statue of Peace" : sculpted memory

Erected for the first time in Seoul in 2011, the Sonyeonseong (Statue of the Young Girl) has become a global symbol of memory. Its symbolism is profound :

• bare feet with raised heels : symbolize instability, vulnerablilty, and the inability of these women to feel "grounded" in their own country upon their return ;

• the bird on the shoulder : represents the link between survivors and those who passed away ;

• the shadow on the ground : shows the profile of an elderly woman, representing a lifetime marked by trauma ;

• the empty chair : an invitation to passersby to sit and share the memory.

Statue in front of the Japenese ambassy - Seoul. AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP

Replicas of the statue have been installed in South Korea, the United States, Germany and several other countries, at times triggering diplomatic tensions.

Contemporary legal and diplomatic debates

The current dispute is not just about facts, but about their legal qualifications.

While the Kono Statement (1993) and the Murayama Statement (1995) expressed remorse, the 2015 bilateral agreement - labeled "final and irreversible" - was rejected by many survivors.

This rejection highlights a key concept : the difference between a diplomatic solution and restorative justice. For survivors, financial compensation is secondary to the explicit recognition of the Japenese state's legal responsability, a point Tokyo has consistently phrased with ambiguity to avoid mass legal liability.

Why this work remains essential in 2026

The history of "comfort women" now serves as a moral and legal precedent. This struggle significantly contribued to the Rome Statute (1998), which governs the International Criminal Court, explicity recognizing sexual slavery as a crime against humanity and a war crime. As the number of survivors dwindles, transmission through museums (like the House of Sharing) education and international law remains vital.

Nota bene : it's important to emphasize that this system of human and sexual trafficking extended throughout Asia. This article focuses specifically on South Korea, as it is the primary subject of this blog.

References :

• Pyong Gap Min, Korean Comfort Women : Military Brothels, Brutality and the Redress Movement.

• The Korean Council, True Stories of the Korean Comfort Women.

• Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, Grass (Graphic Novel).

• Pierre-François Souyri, Les femmes de réconfort : un esclavage d'état ?

• Association for Asian Studies, Teaching about the Comfort Women during the World War II and the use of personal stories of Victims.

• Official Statements: Kōno (1993) and Murayama (1995).

Pictures form paper "Le Monde", Association for Asian Studies, Wikipedia and paper "L'histoire".