Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Japanese mayor: Wartime sex slaves were necessary
AP ^ | 5/14/2013 | MALCOLM FOSTER

Posted on 05/14/2013 1:34:27 AM PDT by markomalley

An outspoken nationalist mayor said the Japanese military's forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War II was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle.

The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighboring countries that bore the brunt of Japan's wartime aggression and that have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone for wartime atrocities.

Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is also co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also told reporters that there wasn't clear evidence that the Japanese military coerced women to become what are euphemistically called "comfort women."

"To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," said Hashimoto. "For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; Japan
KEYWORDS: china; comfortwomen; japan; korea; singapore; worldwarii; wwii
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last
Assuming the AP didn't mis-report this, there are two words:

Just.

Wow.

1 posted on 05/14/2013 1:34:27 AM PDT by markomalley
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Thats such backwards thinking they engaged in. They should have simply destroyed families, and opened frontline Japanese army units to female soldiers. Just let the 20 year old boys and girls mix naturally in the intense emotional caulron of a war zone.

Thats the way our revolutionary socialist government does it.


2 posted on 05/14/2013 1:39:00 AM PDT by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Gen. Hooker had them too... But they weren’t slaves. Jeez!


3 posted on 05/14/2013 1:39:51 AM PDT by Cowboy Bob (Democrats: Robbing Peter to buy Paul's vote.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cowboy Bob

Exactly, there would have been enough willing not to have to force people!!! REading a story like this puts my mind at ease that we were not out of line nuking them.


4 posted on 05/14/2013 1:41:25 AM PDT by gemoftheocean (...geez, this all seems so straight forward and logical to me...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Japanese culture is pretty odd, sexwise, even today. Probably world leader in pedophilia. And check out such things as hentai and ecchi.


5 posted on 05/14/2013 1:42:34 AM PDT by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com (Vendetta))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

When I was in the Corps we had ‘comfort women’ waiting for us at fleet landing ... they always seemed to know the next port of call. Cost you for any ‘comfort’ provided (if you were so inclined) and the price varied ... first few days in port it was always higher.


6 posted on 05/14/2013 1:51:00 AM PDT by BluH2o
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

“co-leader of an emerging conservative political party”

Conservative? Oh, you vile media slimebuckets.

The WWII militarists called themselves Nazis, but those who follow in their footsteps are “conservatives?”


7 posted on 05/14/2013 1:53:13 AM PDT by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Yeah? Well so were the A- bombs. No hard feelings.


8 posted on 05/14/2013 1:53:19 AM PDT by RC one
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley
Just.

Wow.

Just nuke-worthy.

9 posted on 05/14/2013 1:55:43 AM PDT by cynwoody
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cynwoody
Just nuke-worthy.

Those two words work, as well.

10 posted on 05/14/2013 1:57:00 AM PDT by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good -- Leo XIII)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Hardraade

This mayor is an attention whore. It’s all just bukkake theater.


11 posted on 05/14/2013 2:02:35 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Mexican Drug Cartels have the same attitude towards when...and both Des and GOP are giving them Amnesty. Maybe the Japanese sex slavers can get in line for Amnesty too


12 posted on 05/14/2013 2:07:40 AM PDT by SeminoleCounty (GOP - Greenlighting Obama's Programs)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lancey Howard

Lol.


13 posted on 05/14/2013 2:51:43 AM PDT by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com (Vendetta))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Comfort women. It’s a national obligation.


14 posted on 05/14/2013 3:01:18 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Seems the Korean ladies forced in to being” comfort ladies” weren’t too willing nor happy about this.
Is it any wonder Koreans and Chineese still Hate the japs?


15 posted on 05/14/2013 3:46:40 AM PDT by Joe Boucher ((FUBO))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Cowboy Bob
Gen. Hooker had them too... But they weren’t slaves. Jeez!

All armies have camp followers. Obama has MSNBC. Hooker's were more professional and had fewer diseases.

Actually, the term "hooker", meaning prostitute, appeared in print as early as 1845, and was unrelated to the General or his army.

The famous American Volunteer Group, (AVG), the Flying Tigers, had prostitutes flown in from India who were medically checked out and generally free of disease. When the U.S. joined the War and the AVG were inducted into the U.S. military, the acerbic General "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell stopped this practice, leading to increases in rates of infection and reduced availability of AVG aircrews.

What the Japanese (and to some extent Russians) did was different. The Japanese engaged in widespread and spontaneous rap of civilian women during combat. In garrison they kept female prisoners who were routinely gang raped, with whole platoons sharing a single woman. Only men who were medically cleared could use the comfort women, to prevent the spread of disease. Fear of rape of their female relatives and wives was used to motivate Japanese soldiers at the end. American servicemen were under strict orders not to molest Japanese women. I believe the penalty for rape was the firing squad. There is at least one report of a black Marine on Okinawa who was murdered by the family of a Japanese woman he had been molesting, and his body hidden in a cave. The family was afraid to request help from American authorities. The story went unreported for at least forty years after the War.

16 posted on 05/14/2013 3:58:53 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (Doing the same thing and expecting different results is called software engineering.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

Bakka tare !


17 posted on 05/14/2013 4:41:17 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (NRA Life Member)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

If Japan wants to rationalize this crap, they better have a military ready to stand up to China...because few people would have trouble understanding why China might feel justified to go in there and clean up their (Japan’s) perception of history a bit.


18 posted on 05/14/2013 4:49:01 AM PDT by BobL (Look up "CSCOPE" if you want to see something really scary)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

Perhaps they could have allowed homosexuals to serve openly? That could have relieved some of their stress (and helped us win sooner).


19 posted on 05/14/2013 4:58:20 AM PDT by rfreedom4u (I have a copy of the Constitution! And I'm not afraid to use it!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: markomalley
Given Japan's weak and venerable position in the modern world, overshadowed by a massive modernized China.
I can see how pre-cold war Japan (1900 to 1940s) history would breed nostalgia with them. After all, that tiny country dominated Eastern Asia and all those islands for decades.

Immoral but at least relevant.

20 posted on 05/14/2013 5:07:01 AM PDT by sickoflibs (To GOP : Any path to US citizenship IS putting them ahead in line. Stop lying about your position.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson