YANG Ching-ja I Co-chair, Japan Nationwide Action for the Resolution of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issue, Japan

Session 1. The Implications of the 30th anniversary of Kim Hak-soon ’s Public Testimony

Kim Hak-soon’s Testimony and History of Movement in Japan

YANG Ching-ja I Co-chair, Japan Nationwide Action for the Resolution of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Issue, Japan

1. The Beginning of the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Movement in Japan Similar to how the Japanese military “comfort women” movement in Korea was

sparked by the devotion of an individual, Yun Chung-ok, the beginning of the movement in Japan was led by Takahashi Kikue. Born in 1933, Takahashi became a member of the Japanese Christian Women’s Organization (Kyofukai) in 1957. Later, as the director of the

Anti-Prostitution Association1 formed in 1973, she became a pioneer in the movement against sex tourism and the Japanese military “comfort women” movement.

In July 1973, the Korea Church Women United (KCWU) submitted a statement condemning sex tourism at the first Korea-Japan Church Council held in Seoul. When a Japanese representative who attended the council returned with the statement, it shocked Takahashi who responded, “This is a serious issue. As a Japanese Christian woman, I cannot let down Korean Christian women.” 2 Takahashi visited Korea and conducted research with

Yamaguchi Akiko from the National Christian Council in Japan (NCC) in November 1973.3 And as a part of the movement against sex tourism, Takahashi participated in the “International Seminar on Women and Tourism Culture” (held at Jeju YMCA Campsite with

130 people from 10 different countries), which was hosted by the KCWU in April 1988, where she first learned about Yun Chung-ok's investigation report on the Japanese military “comfort women.”

1 The Anti-Prostitution Association was first formed by the consolidation of National Council on

Prostitution Prevention (formed in 1953), which was formed by 22 civic groups, and Okinawa

Anti-Prostitution Association in order to support the Prostitution Prevention Law (promulgated in 1956, enacted in April 1957). The organization was later renamed to Anti-Sexual Violence

Association and dismissed in 2018. 2 Takahashi Kikue, Baibaishun mondai ni torikumu (売買春問題ととりくむ), Akashi Shoten, 2004. 3 Born in 1935, Yamaguchi Akiko participated in the anti-sex tourism movement with Takahashi and she has been an active participant of the “comfort women” issue movement to this day.

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After her meeting with Yun Chung-ok at this seminar, Takahashi strongly felt the need to address the “comfort women” issue and sent her three books about “comfort women,”

including Military Comfort Women by Senda Kakou, and a Kanita Newsletter magazine with a picture of the stone memorial to “Military Comfort Women,” erected at Kanita

Women’s Village upon the request of a “comfort women” victim named Shirota Suzuko. In

the following summer, Yun Chung-ok visited Japan for her investigation and visited the Kanita Women’s Village in Chiba with Takahasi. At the same time, Takahashi and Yoon

held a meeting with female politicians, journalists, and civic groups at the National Diet Building in Japan.

2. The Historic Assembly (1) - December, 1990

On December 1, 1990, a crucial moment for the Japanese military “comfort women”

movement in Japan was took place as the Anti-Prostitution Association held the Assembly on Human Rights and War. Here, Yun Chung-ok gave a speech on the Japanese military “comfort women” issue. 300 people attended this assembly held at Tokyo YMCA, including

myself, and this became the moment when I decided to become a part of the Japanese military “comfort women” movement. At this assembly, Yun Chung-ok proudly announced the creation the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (hereinafter the Korean Council), which was created a month before the event.

At this time, the Japanese military “comfort women” issue was rarely known in Japan.

However, this assembly demonstrated the increasing awareness on the issue at the time, as 300 people from various backgrounds, including men and women and Christians and non-Christians, attended the event. Moreover, a number of women who later became a

part of the “comfort women” movement were present at the meeting. Shiba Yoko later

noted that “though I cannot remember all of the details of Yun Chung-ok’s speech, I can

still recall her flame and the day so vivid after all these years.”4 Personally, I also still remember the assembly like it was yesterday myself. Perhaps, this is because Yun Chungok’s incredible passion for the “comfort women” issue and the heat of the assembly were

4 Born in 1947, Shiba Yoko became a founding member of the Group Thinking about Sex and

Japanese Monarchy and became the center of the support for a group of Taiwanese “comfort women” victims’ lawsuit against the Japanese government. Currently, she is the co-director of

Nationwide Action for the Resolution of the Issue of Japanese Military Comfort Women. 222

so impressive that they became ingrained in my mind.

In addition, there was a moment when a number of participants announced the creation of the Association for the Military “Comfort Women” Issue during the event.

Kawada Fumiko, the author of Red Tile House, a book depicting the life of “comfort women” victims in Okinawa including Bae Bong-gi, was one of the people who created this group.56 Also, another group named Group Thinking about Sex and Japanese Monarchy was created due to the influence of this assembly. Furthermore, the Nationwide Network for Resolution of Japan’s Military “Comfort Women” Issue (hereinafter Nationwide Network), which I was

a part of, was created after this event and a meeting between Yun Chung-ok and a group of Korean-Japanese women on the following day.7 As the event’s host, Anti-Prostitution Association’s Takahashi later remarked, “the movement gained momentum after the

assembly…” 8 and this assembly, which was first held before Kim Hak-soon’s public testimony of December 1990, was significant in that it became an important turning point for the “comfort women” movement in Japan as it began to accept and utilize “comfort

women” victims’ testimony in confronting the Japanese government for its responsibility

on the issue in the following year.

3. The Historic Assembly (2) - December, 1991

After the assembly in December 1990 enabled the “comfort women” movement in

Japan, various events for Kim Hak-soon’s testimony were held in Tokyo and Kansai region

in December of 1991 to further expand the movement’s capacity and raise the Japanese

public’s awareness on the “comfort women” issue. Kim Hak-soon, who entered Japan on December 5 and filed the lawsuit against the Japanese government in Tokyo District Court as one of the plaintiffs from the Association of Pacific War Victims and Bereaved Families the following day, participated in her first testimonial assembly in Osaka on December 7.

5 Born in 1943, Kawada Fumiko published Red Tile House, in which she depicts the life of Bae

Bong-gi, in 1987. Since then, she has been a pioneer of the “comfort women” movement and supported Song Sin-do’s lawsuit. 6 Kawada Fumiko’s Red Tile House was translated as 『빨간 기와집: 일본군 위안부가 된 한국 여성 이야기』(translated by Oh Keun-young, 꿈교출판사, 2014) in Korea. 7 The 17 Korean-Japanese women who attended the meeting in the following day formed the

Nationwide Network for Resolution of Japan’s Military “Comfort Women” Issue on November 3, 1991. 8 Takahashi Kikue, Baibaishun mondai ni torikumu (売買春問題ととりくむ), Akashi Shoten, 2004. 223

On December 9, she participated in the testimonial assembly in Tokyo, which was hosted by the Nationwide Network where I was a part of.

In fact, Kim Hak-soon’s participation in these events in December was planned before

she decided to file the lawsuit against the Japanese government. And therefore, originally, she was scheduled to enter Japan in Kansai, visit Tokyo for an assembly, and go back to Kansai to leave the country there. However, as she decided to participate in the lawsuit, and as the lawsuit was scheduled to be filed the day before her Kansai assembly, Kim Haksoon had to enter Japan in Tokyo, attend the assembly in Osaka, and move back to Tokyo for another assembly, and then visit Kansai again. And as Kim Hak-soon became one of the plaintiffs that filed the lawsuit against the Japanese government, the media began to cover her story, and therefore a lot of people became interested in her testimony and visited the assembly in Tokyo. At the time, my organization reserved a place for 100-200 people, but more than 450 people came for the event.9 Our anxiety of not having enough people had now turned into a scream to let people know that we cannot accept any more people to enter the room.

The assembly in Tokyo was divided into two parts. In the first half of the assembly, Kim Hye-won from the Korean Council shared information about the “comfort women”

movement in Korea, followed by Kim Hak-soon’s testimony and questions regarding the

testimony. In the second half, 11 speakers gave speeches in order to express Japanese people’s effort and support. In addition, 65 letters were sent to Kim Hak-soon to express their support.

During the assembly, Kim Hak-soon told us that she could hardly breathe during her flight to Japan because seeing the Japanese flag on the wing of her Japan Airlines (JAL) airplane stressed her, and that the traditional Japanese tatami room of her hotel brings her traumatic memories. And she remarked,

“I believe most younger people in Japan do not know the history. I do not mean to

disrespect them, but I just want to make sure that incidents like this do not happen again. Do younger generations in Korea and Japan know about the incident? They do not. So we

9 More than 600 people showed up for the assembly. However, the official number of attendees is recorded as 450 in Nationwide Network Notification (the Nationwide Network’s bulletin) and

To Resolve the Resentment(the report for the assembly) as no more than 400 people were allowed to enter.

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need to teach them to make sure things like this never happen again. And I do not want the Japanese government to keep asserting that this (the Japanese military “comfort

women” system) never existed. I am alive and I exist right here. I may have been a ‘comfort

woman’ for only 4-5 months, but still, my body was destroyed and now I cannot have a woman’s life because of Japanese people and Japanese soldiers. I want the Japanese

government to consider these facts and sympathize with us. I strongly believe they should acknowledge and say ‘we were wrong and we apologize’ for what they did.”

In this event, various Japanese women who were already a part of the “comfort women”

movement, such as Kawada Fumiko, Nishino Rumiko, Suzuki Yuko, and Shimizu Sumiko,10 as well as a number of women who later became a part of the movement were present. Shibasaki Haruko,11 who later devoted her life to supporting Filipino “comfort women”

victims, later commented “I attended the event because I learned that I could listen to Kim

Hak-soon’s story. Before her, only male victims of the war were vocal about their atrocities.

I stayed after the assembly to shake her hands. That was the moment I decided to participate in the movement.”

4. Kim Hak-soon’s Impact on Japan’s Society and the Government

Kim Hak-soon’s appearance had a profound impact on Japanese society and the

Japanese government. At the time of the lawsuit in December 1991, the Japanese government did not even acknowledge the government and its military’s involvement in

the “comfort women” system, claiming that the system was operated by civilian contractors.

This claim eventually led to Japanese historian Yoshimi Yoshiaki’s action. Yoshimi later

explained the situation like the following.

“Right before Kim Hak-soon’s visit to Japan, she had an interview with NHK where she

stated ‘I wanted the world to know what the Japanese military had done to me. They

destroyed my entire life. I want the younger generations in Japan and Korea to know what

10 Shimizu Sumiko (March 1928 - January 2013) was a member of the House of Councilors for the

Japanese Socialist Party and Social Democratic Party, and was a pioneer in the “comfort women” movement who brought the issue to the National Diet even before the “comfort women” issue was largely known in Japan. 11 Shibasaki Haruko (born in 1937) was involved in various activities including supporting Filipina

“comfort women” victims’ lawsuit and Song Sin-do’s lawsuit and still is actively participating in the “comfort women” at the age of 85.

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Japan did in the past (News 21, November 28).’ I was really impressed by this interview

and began my research on the Japanese military ‘comfort women’ issue. Soon, it became

apparent that the Japanese government’s statement (that the Japanese military had no involvement with the system) is false. Before I left the country to study abroad, I visited the library of the National Institute for Defense Studies, where I found official documents for the Japanese Army’s orders to install ‘comfort women’ stations. After Kim Hak-soon’s

speech, I went to the same library and began looking for related documents. And fortunately, I found six documents that survived the military’s effort to destroy related

evidence (Asahi Shimbun, January 11 1992). How did these documents survive the destruction? These were documents that contained information on ‘comfort women’ up

until 1942, and they were stored in an underground facility in Hachioji in order to avoid air raids and the Japanese military could not destroy them before the Allies arrived”.12

As official documents ordering the installation of “comfort women” stations were

exposed by the Asahi Shimbun on January 11, 1992, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato stated that the government “cannot deny the military’s involvement” and became the first

government official to acknowledge and apologize for the issue. Prime Minister Miyazawa who visited Korea from January 16 to 18, followed suit and acknowledged the Japanese military’s involvement and mentioned “apology and reflection” to President Roh Tae-woo at the 1992 Korea-Japan Summit.

As the media increasingly covered the “comfort women” issue, various “comfort

women” movement groups13 operated a hotline, known as the “Comfort Women 110,” for

three days from January 14 to January 16 of 1992. And through this hotline, we learned about Song Shin-do who lived in Miyagi. The person who reported Song Shin-do’s case did not reveal his/her name.

5. Voices Gone, Voices Heard

When Kawada Fumiko first visited Song Shin-do based on the information she learned

12 Yoshimi Yoshiaki. Comfort Women (従軍慰安婦). Iwanami Shoten. 1995. In parentheses is the author’s inclusion of related articles. 13 “Comfort Women 110” organizers were Association Thinking about Military Comfort Women

Issue, Our Women Network for Military Comfort Women Issue, Group Clarifying Japan’s Post-

War Responsibility, and Korea Democratic Women’s Association.

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through “Comfort Women 110,” Song asked a lot of questions regarding Kim Hak-soon’s

lawsuit. And when she saw Kim Hak-soon on TV, she mentioned “we are the same.” Since

then, Song Shin-do continuously asked Kawada about Kim Hak-soon when Kawada visited her a few times to learn about her “comfort woman” experience. From these visits, Kawada

had an impression that Song Shin-do wanted to file a lawsuit herself and she asked Song if she wanted to pursue legal actions. However, Song never gave a clear answer. Then, a lawyer and a Korean-Japanese woman visited Song Shin-do in order to explain information about the lawsuit to her in order to help her decide and in order to understand her demand. And that Korean-Japanese woman who visited Song Shin-do in August of 1992 was me. However, even after our visit, we still could not clearly understand what she demanded. Therefore, we invited Song to Tokyo so that she could discuss with leaders of the “Comfort Women 110” committee and kept in communication with her over the phone. These eventually led to Song Shin-do’s lawsuit in April of 1993. To Song Shin-do, who became involved in various activities after the lawsuit, the Kim Hak-soon held a special meaning. Whenever Song Shin-do mentioned Kim Hak-soon, it was apparent that she had a unique feeling, a mix of respect, admiration, and sympathy, for Kim Hak-soon.

Ever since we first contacted Song Shin-do, she constantly claimed that “(because she

was ashamed, she) never told anyone” that she was a comfort woman. Then how did the anonymous caller who reported Song Shin-do’s case to us know about her story?

Later, we learned that the anonymous caller was someone from the Republic of Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) in Sendai. Song Shin-do was forced by a Japanese soldier to move to Japan from China after the war. After she was abandoned by the soldier, she started living with a Japanese-Korean man in Miyagi. In order to support her sick partner, she had various jobs such as selling water, working at construction sites, and working at a fish producing factory. However, as her partner’s health issues prolonged, she

applied for national basic living security. Stressed by the strict process of living security application, Song Shin-do caused a scene at a public office yelling “I am a great woman

who served this country in China!” The public office could not calm her even after police

officers were called to the scene, so they contacted Mindan for help. And the Mindan official who heard Song Shin-do’s rage correctly guessed her situation.

This was not the first time she used the phrase “I am a great woman who served this

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country in China!” Every time someone scorned her as a poor Korean woman, she raged

and started screaming the phrase. When people finally recognized her “shameful

experience she could not tell anybody” through a movement addressing the experience,

Song Shin-do’s “scream” became her “voice.”

And this is not just Song Shin-do’s case. Throughout Asia, women “comfort women”

victims were struggling and in agony. In Shanxi, China, Hou Qiaolian would “sometimes

go insane, beat children until they were bruised, and run out of her house naked making weird noise” while Moon Pil-gi would have nightmare every night and strangle her sibling, yelling “Miosaki!,” a Japanese soldier’s name. These women’s expression of pain was

regarded as “noise” and defined as “insanity.” These victims were screaming and crying,

fighting their own war until someone recognized their “voices.”

And Kim Hak-soon’s case was no different. Her relationship with the Korean Council

was only made possible because she told her atrocity to a Korean-Japanese atomic bombing victim Lee Mang-hee. The women victims were never “silent.” The truth is, their

“voices” were simply ignored until some people started listening to them.

In Kim Hak-soon’s first testimonial assembly in Tokyo on December 9, 1991, someone

asked her “why did you decide to speak half a century after the war?” This kind of question

was omnipresent in the early days of the Japanese military “comfort women” movement

in Japan. Why? Why 50 years later? Japanese society of the time did not have the maturity to envision the fact that the victims have been vocal for the past 50 years. And the society unconsciously and continuously questioned the victims without knowing that their voices had been silenced. And the women who started the “comfort women” movement in Japan,

too, only came to recognize the issue after their counterparts in Korea started questioning the past criminal acts of the Japanese government.

The day, August 14, was a miraculous moment which was enabled by a courageous victim who came forward and Korean women who made an effort to find and listen to the

“invisible” victims. Without each other, that special moment would have never been realized.

Yun Chung-ok’s passion that allowed her to continue to investigate the Japanese

military “comfort women” issue on her own, Lee Hyo-jae’s leadership that connected Yoon’s passion with the Korean feminist movement, Kim Hye-won and Kim Shin-sil who

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helped Yoon’s investigation and selflessly supported “comfort women” victims, Yoon

Young-ae who first recognized Kim Hak-soon’s public testimony, Lee Mi-kyun and Chi Eun-hee who became the backbone of the Korean Council’s movement, Chung Chin-sung who guided the Korean Council’s investigation, Shin Hei-soo who started international activities for the movement, and Yoon Mee-hyang who gave up studying abroad and returned to Korea to devote the rest of her life for the “comfort women” movement;

marking the 30th anniversary of the day when Kim Hak-soon, through her encounter with women who were willing to convey her voice to the world, showed her remarkable courage, I would like to remember her and countless women who supported Kim Hak-soon’s incredible bravery.

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