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 ...
See, the Democratic Party has them too. Only there, they’re called “Discomfort Women”.
Like Pelosi.
Could be a Fluke.
I think the guy’s a bit of a goofball, at least in this area:
“He froze, and then with a wry smile said that is off-limits for the U.S. military,” he said.
“I told him that there are problems because of such formalities,” Hashimoto said, explaining that he was not referring to illegal prostitution but to places operating within the law. “If you don’t make use of those places you cannot properly control the sexual energy of those tough guys.”
I think actions, not words, are nuke-worthy. For instance, Chinese figures have said they would nuke American cities if the US came to Taiwan's rescue during an invasion. Now, if they actually nuke American cities, retaliation would be obligatory. It's clear from the fact that we haven't rained nukes on China that their provocative words alone aren't nuke-worthy, and these were high-level military officials talking about future contingencies rather than civilian officials talking about the past.
I recall when I was in Korea that a black soldier was found one morning back in Seoul, tied to a pole having been castrated and bleeding to death. The story going around was that he had raped a Korean woman and the family found him and meted out their own justice. That was in early ‘53.
Thank you for your service. The Forgotten War isn't entirely forgotten.
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