Argumentative Essay: Japanese War Crimes Lie Law

This proposal would be extremely difficult in the current political climate in Japan. I propose to request nations in the Asia Pacific, in particular Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and many Pacific island nations that became victims of Japanese war atrocities during the war, to introduce a “Japanese War Crimes Lie Law” in their own nations. I also propose to request these nations to clearly state their “territorial jurisdiction” in conjunction with this law, so that any Japanese citizen, including a former prime minister, who violates this law, can be arrested if he or she visits a nation that has adopted this law. (Unfortunately, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

Japanese people, in particular younger generations, who have not been properly educated about Japan’s war responsibility and have little opportunity to access the relevant knowledge, should be given an incentive from outside Japan to think about such important issues. Many feminist scholars and activists are critical of the expression “comfort women,” claiming it evokes the false impression that these women provided a voluntary service. Moreover, they say, the term masks the sexual and violent aspects of the system. I agree that it is an official euphemism and should be replaced with the more accurate “Japanese military sex slaves.” However, as the term “comfort women” has been widely used by historians for the last few decades, I, too, have used it in this essay, although I share the view that it is clearly a

See his statement: http://japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/statement/201508/0814statement.html Kōno Danwa Sakusei Katei ni Kansuru Kentō Chiimu, Ianfu mondai o meguru ikkan-kan no yaritori no keii. Toda, “Ajia josei kikin ni kansuru ichi kenkyū.” Toda, “Ajia josei kikin ni kansuru ichi kenkyū.” UN Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of Japan (emphasis added). For more details, see Tanaka, “Naze Asahi shimbun wa kōgeki mokuhyō ni sareta no ka.” “Ianfu mondai de Nippon kizutsuketa shushō Asahi shimbun ni taishi.” Tanaka, “Asahi ga shusei shita ‘Yoshida Seiji shōgen’ wa ‘Kōno danwa’ sakusei ni wa mattaku tsukawarete inai.” Uemura, “Watashi wa tatakau: futō na basshingu ni kusshinai.” JCAST News, June 3, 2013. The Global Gender Gap Index 2013. Takeshita, “Josei no rōdō: hinkon no genjō to