After a disastrous war which involved the major powers of the world, Japan, the last standing enemy of the Western Allies, announced its surrender on August 15, 1945, 65 years ago. The surrender did not come willingly. In the last few months of the war most Japanese soldiers were ‘Killed In Action’ (KIA) because they refused to be taken prisoners. However after the Atom-Bomb destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan was forced to give up and save the country from further destruction.
We have heard and learned a lot about the Great War in college classes. So it comes to mind ‘what new can I say?”. Well when a story is told, people and especially major news media focus on the obvious things. It would be nothing for me to write about Nazi Germany, Hitler, and the Allies, since I wrote countless essays about the war back in college. But for the Soul Rebel Movement it is all about awareness and therefore I chose one of the most gruesome events during the war but also one of the most under light story of this period.
During World War II Japan recruited young girls and young women to serve as entertainment for the Japanese soldiers. These girls were called Comfort girls. The so called comfort girls came from various countries including China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines and elsewhere. Through a great deception, in which the girls were promised jobs in factories, the ladies were recruited and shipped to the frontlines. Once they reached their destiny they faced a grim reality which would forever change their lives. On a daily basis a woman got raped by dozens of soldiers. The officers kept some of the girls for themselves and in this case, they were the little lucky girls because their duty was to please only one man. Those who tried to escape and got caught were mutilated and sometimes executed to warn the others. Throughout their stay if the women show any resentment they were beaten up, cut up with knives and left nearly dead or disfigured. If a woman got pregnant she must have abortion on the frontline and go on with business. This act of evil was the fate of an estimated 200.000 women and young girls. Their hellish experience with the soldiers left them a great scare and one can understand how great the traumas were for the survivors. The first time I heard a survivor speaking of this tragedy it sent shivers down my spine. These are the accounts which make it easy to give up on the good of men.
Atrocities like this happened on the side of the allies as well. For example, many Soviet soldiers are documented and accused of mass rape. But I think it was never orchestrate or thought-out as the Japanese. Before they entered the war most of the young Japanese soldiers who were send to the war had never committed a crime. They were sons of mothers and fathers of this earth, who committed these atrocious crimes against humanity. This is what war does to men. They killed, tortured and enslaved women and children. Therefore Japan was seen as the world’s greatest enemy and I think it was the only reason the US could get off that easy with the launch of the Atom Bomb, which was a desperate evil act in my eyes.
Since the Japanese government never recognized the crimes of its army boys and officers, the survivors of these heinous crimes are seeking for compensation and an official apology by the Japanese government for many years now. The Soul Rebel Movement stands by the survivors and believes that justice will be done. Maybe not today or tomorrow morning, but eventually justice will be done, because I believe with my whole heart that God will not let this go unpunished.