Japan Osaka mayor says the WW2 "confort women" were necessary

[Deleted]

Couldn't fit a title that would make sense. Basically he said that the system through which women were raped and turned into prostitutes against their will by japanese soldiers was necessary. And this was just the fault of the war.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22519384

"A prominent Japanese politician has described as "necessary" the system by which women were forced to become prostitutes for World War II troops.

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto said the "comfort women" gave soldiers putting their lives at risk a chance "to rest".

He acknowledged that the women had been acting "against their will".

Some 200,000 women in territories occupied by Japan during WWII are estimated to have been forced into becoming sex slaves for troops.

Many of the women came from China and South Korea, but also from the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Japan's treatment of its wartime role has been a frequent source of tension with its neighbours.

Mr Hashimoto, the co-founder of the nationalist Japanese Restoration Party, was the youngest governor in Japanese history before becoming mayor of Osaka.

He said last year that Japan needed "a dictatorship".

In his latest controversial comments, quoted by Japanese media, he said: "In the circumstances in which bullets are flying like rain and wind, the soldiers are running around at the risk of losing their lives,"

"If you want them to have a rest in such a situation, a comfort women system is necessary. Anyone can understand that."

He also claimed that Japan was not the only country to use the system, though it was responsible for its actions.

He said he backed a 1995 statement by Japan's then-PM Tomiichi Murayama, in which he apologised for its wartime actions in Asia.

"It is a result of the tragedy of the war that they became comfort women against their will. The responsibility for the war also lies with Japan. We have to politely offer kind words to [former] comfort women.""

[Tradewind]

anee'ting you waaaant

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Necessary? I want to know what planet he's on.

[Garnier Fructis]

At least he recognizes that it was against their will and supports an apology, unlike that asshat of a Prime Minister they have now, who has flat out denied that they were forced to be prostitutes.

[Lefrog]

Spoils of war.

If you aren't doing it for the sake of some higher moral standard, you pretty much need this to keep moral high. Don't think for a second there has ever been an army that wasn't guilty of pillaging and rape. The only difference is that the government condoned/facilitated the behavior instead of keeping it hush hush. My French great grandfather came back with plenty of "trophies" from German houses in WWII.

[Tradewind]

Spoils of war.

If you aren't doing it for the sake of some higher moral standard, you pretty much need this to keep moral high. Don't think for a second there has ever been an army that wasn't guilty of pillaging and rape. The only difference is that the government condoned/facilitated the behavior instead of keeping it hush hush. My French great grandfather came back with plenty of "trophies" from German houses in WWII.

Yeah my grandfather has a necklace with a bunch of ears on it.

[Deleted]

Well, he's right in a twisted sort of way. I wouldn't use the word 'necesary', but it's no surprise that soldiers who put their lives at risk do crazy things to get their mind off of things. They need to find pleasure to compensate for the horrible things that happen.

And it's not like the Japanese were the only ones to rape. What about the American, Russian or German soldiers? Pretty much all sides raped women.

[Sam the Wiser]

I see nothing wrong in war anything goes.

[Sky High]

wow, a Japanese officiel that acknowledges the shit his country did in the past. how much do you want to bet the nationalist bloggers in Japan will call for this guy's resignation? or better yet how long until he does.

[Notchris]

Well, he's right in a twisted sort of way. I wouldn't use the word 'necesary', but it's no surprise that soldiers who put their lives at risk do crazy things to get their mind off of things. They need to find pleasure to compensate for the horrible things that happen.

And it's not like the Japanese were the only ones to rape. What about the American, Russian or German soldiers? Pretty much all sides raped women.

It seems that most people have an issue with the fact they were kept as sex slaves.

Plenty of soldiers on all sides committed crimes such as rape. But it wasn't sanctioned by the government, where the "comfort women" were.

To note, South Koreans operated "comfort women" for the U.S. soldiers back in the '50s as well, so it wasn't purely a Japanese thing.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

I see nothing wrong in war anything goes.

Fuck this kind of thinking.

Spoils of war.

If you aren't doing it for the sake of some higher moral standard, you pretty much need this to keep moral high. Don't think for a second there has ever been an army that wasn't guilty of pillaging and rape. The only difference is that the government condoned/facilitated the behavior instead of keeping it hush hush. My French great grandfather came back with plenty of "trophies" from German houses in WWII.

People are not objects and if you don't recognize the difference then something is wrong.

[Tradewind]

Better the government did it than some enterprising pimp.

Neither would be preferable...but when put side by side...

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

Better the government did it than some enterprising pimp.

Neither would be preferable...but when put side by side...

Being raped is still being raped. If you mean the conditions under which the rapes occurred, I don't think there would have been a significant difference. I feel that it is much worse for a government to have condoned something awful than one of its citizens.

[Sky High]

Better the government did it than some enterprising pimp.

Neither would be preferable...but when put side by side...

...what? all the other countries involved in WWII had a very less then stellar reputation on how it treated the women of the countries they occupied, America included, but NONE of them were state sanctioned like they were in Japan. which for some reason makes it worse, IDK that's just me.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

...what? all the other countries involved in WWII had a very less then stellar reputation on how it treated the women of the countries they occupied, America included, but NONE of them were state sanctioned like they were in Japan. which for some reason makes it worse, IDK that's just me.

It's worse because it's an extra level of terrible that is required. If you stab somebody, you are being terrible. If somebody pays you to stab somebody, you are being just as terrible, but there is also another person being terrible.

[Tradewind]

Clearly that's what I said "neither is preferable..."

[Wondercrab]

Spoils of war.

If you aren't doing it for the sake of some higher moral standard, you pretty much need this to keep moral high. Don't think for a second there has ever been an army that wasn't guilty of pillaging and rape. The only difference is that the government condoned/facilitated the behavior instead of keeping it hush hush. My French great grandfather came back with plenty of "trophies" from German houses in WWII.

That doesn't make it any less sickening and disgusting. There is no way to justify this kind of treatment of others. Anyone who engages in it is a horrible human being, and no government should ever back up these individuals by sanctioning their behaviour.
Looting and sex slavery are worlds apart.

[Deleted]

If winning the war by any means necessary was their goal, then sure, you can say it was necessary.

But why in the world would you even go on record saying stuff like this? Political suicide?

[BatteredRose]

I see nothing wrong in war anything goes.

And you're a sick little fucker.

Infracted.

[Grizzly Willy]

Clearly that's what I said "neither is preferable..."

Well, the phrase "Neither is preferable" is negated by the word "but." Unless you mean to "Neither is preferable, so ignore anything I say after about how there's a difference between the government doing it and somebody else."