SDHF Newsletter No.190 Statement concerning the decision of UNESCO

Statement concerning the decision of UNESCO’s Memory of the World register on
“Documentation on ‘Comfort Women’ and Japanese Army Discipline”

November 17, 2017

Four US-Japan groups issued a statement on the decision of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register’s decision on two different proposals on the comfort women issue:

*Statement: https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Mow_statement_English.pdf

We see this decision as fair and just, as UNESCO recommended that the two parties, which submitted proposals that fundamentally disagreed on the comfort women issue, have discussions to reach a common consensus.

However, we are disgusted that the “International Solidarity Committee,” comprised of members from eight different countries, continues to insist that the comfort women were “sex slaves”, even though they cite an official report, “UNITED STATES OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION Psychological Warfare Team Attached to U.S. Army Forces India-Burma Theater Japanese Prisoner of War Interrogation Report No. 49,” in their list of evidence. In this report issues by the US government, the preface unambiguously stated that:
“A “comfort girl” is nothing more than a prostitute or “professional camp follower” attached to the Japanese Army for the benefit of the soldiers. The word “comfort girl” is peculiar to the Japanese.”

We strongly hope that the issue be openly discussed based on historical facts by the two groups, together with the people concerned, free from emotion and preconceived notions.

MOTEKI Hiromichi, Acting Chairman
for KASE Hideaki, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact