Japan WWII 'comfort women' (sex slaves) were 'necessary' - Hashimoto [View all]

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

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.

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

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Bigtime backfire: Hashimoto justifies sex slave use, prostitutes for U.S. forces
BY ERIC JOHNSTON

OSAKA – The fallout escalated Tuesday over Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) coleader Toru Hashimoto’s remarks the previous day that Japan’s wartime sex slave system was necessary and that U.S. service members in Okinawa should use more prostitutes.

The uproar began Monday morning when Hashimoto told reporters in Osaka that the “comfort woman” system, which forced thousands of girls and women from around Asia into Japanese military brothels, had been necessary in order to maintain military discipline.

Hashimoto further fanned the fire Monday evening by noting that, on a recent trip to Okinawa, he’d met with U.S. military brass there and told them that, on mainland Japan, there were legal facilities for releasing sexual energy, and that unless soldiers in Okinawa made more use of similar facilities, it would be difficult to control the sexual energies of the marines.

The remarks provoked an uproar.

In Washington D.C., the Pentagon called Hashimoto’s remarks stupid. In Tokyo Tuesday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined comment, except to say the remarks were those of an opposition party politician.

More: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/14/national/bigtime-backfire-hashimoto-justifies-sex-slave-use-prostitutes-for-u-s-forces/