San Jose Mercury News(2月8日付)争点-「慰安婦」をカリフォルニアの児童にどのように教えるか

「ニューヨーク ビズ 」の署名広告をご覧になった方ここをクリックしてください

*****************************************************************
【 日英対訳 】

San Jose Mercury News  2016年2月8日
Controversy over how to teach California kids about ‘comfort women’
「慰安婦」をカリフォルニアの児童にどのように教えるかの争点
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_29490826/controversy-over-how-teach-california-kids-about-comfort

Los Angeles — Guidelines for California educators on how to teach history students about the use of female sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II have prompted debate in Japanese and Korean communities here and abroad.
ロサンジェルス–第二次大戦中の日本兵による女性を性奴隷として用いた問題について、歴史を勉強する生徒にどのように教えるかを示すカリフォルニア州教育従事者のためのガイドライン(指導要領)が、ここ米国および海外の日本人・韓国人社会で論争を加速させた。

The controversy concerns two sentences about so-called “comfort women” in the nearly 1,000-page “History/Social Science framework” released in December, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday (http://lat.ms/1Putkpu ).
争点は12月に発行された千ページ近くの「歴史・社会学フレームワーク」の中に出てくる、いわゆる「慰安婦」についての2文に関してであると、ロサンジェルス・タイムスは日曜日に報じた。
(http://lat.ms/1Putkpu )

The passage has been met with celebration among Korean American groups that have campaigned to bring attention to the issue in the U.S. Meanwhile some Japanese groups consider it an unfairly negative portrayal of their home county, the newspaper said.
この問題が米国で注目されるべく運動を推進してきた韓国系米国人のグループは、慰安婦の記述を喜ばしく受けとめる一方、日本人のグループには、公正を欠いた自分達の国の負のイメージだとするものもある。

Historians believe that as many as 200,000 girls and women from Korea, China and other occupied nations were forced into Japanese military brothels. However, many Japanese and Japanese-American dispute the claims.
歴史家は、20万人もの少女や女性が朝鮮半島、中国、その他の日本占領下の国々から日本軍の売春施設へ強制的に入れられたとしている。しかし多くの日本人と日系人が、これには異議を唱えている。

The guidelines recommend that the subject of “comfort women” be taught to high schoolers as an “example of institutionalized sexual slavery, and one of the largest cased of human trafficking in the 20th century.”
ガイドラインは「慰安婦」について、「制度化された性奴隷の例と20世紀最大の人身売買の事例」として高校生に教えるよう推奨している。

The passages were incorporated into the draft framework at the urging of Korean community groups, the newspaper said. Nancy McTygue and Bill Honing, co-chairs of the History-Social Science subject matter committee, said they consulted the latest historical research and survivors’ testimony and concluded there was enough evidence for it to be taught in schools.
韓国人コミュニティグループの急き立てて、記述がフレームワークの草案へ取り入れられたと新聞は伝えた。歴史-社会学主題対象委員会共同議長 ナンシー・マクティグと ビル・ホニグは、最新の歴史研究と生存者の証言を考察し、学校で教えるのに十分な証拠があるという結論に至ったと述べた。

The new language on ” comfort women ” marks the first proposal to teach in high school classes in the U.S. what has been a long-contentious political issue in East Asia. It has the potential to widely influence how textbooks address the topic, the Times said.
「慰安婦」の新しい説話は、長い間続いている東アジアの政治問題を米国の高校で教える最初の提案を記すものだ。これは教科書がいかにそのテーマを扱うか、広く影響する可能性であるとタイムス紙は述べた。

After the conservative Japanese newspaper Sankei reported on the new framework in December, under the tag ” History Wars, ” an online petition on Change.org has collected signatures protesting the description. The petition asks that the passages be amended to also describe comfort women as ” well-paid prostitutes ” and that they also served Allied troops in Japan immediately after the war.
日本の保守系新聞産経が12月に「歴史戦」の名の下にこの新フレームワークを報じた後、オンライン署名サイトChange.org は論説に対する抗議の署名を集めた。署名は慰安婦の記述も「高収入売春婦」と訂正し、また彼女たちは終戦直後の日本で連合軍にも性サービスを提供していたことを解説するよう求めた。

典拠:ロサンジェルス・タイムス
Information from : Los Angeles Times,

「慰安婦の強制連行の証拠はあるのか?無いのか?」日本政府の回答

「ニューヨーク ビズ 」の署名広告をご覧になった方ここをクリックしてください

*****************************************************************

国連 女子差別撤廃委員会から63セッションにむけて日本政府に出された質問
「『慰安婦』の強制的連行(forcible removal)を示す証拠はなかったという最近の公式声明について日本政府のコメントを求める」
に対する日本政府の回答が発表されました。

2-(1)
日本政府は、1990年代初頭以降、慰安婦問題が日韓間における政治問題として取り上げ始められた際、事実関係に関する本格的な調査を行った。右調査とは、関係省庁における関連文書の調査、米国国立公文書館等での文献調査、更には軍関係者や慰安所経営者等各方面への聞き取り調査や挺対協の証言集の分析等である。当該調査を通じて得られた、日本政府が発見した資料の中には、軍や官憲によるいわゆる「強制連行」は確認できなかった。

※原文は英語 日本語は外務省仮訳。

以下原文、該当箇所を太字にしています。

***********************************************************

2015.7.30
CEDAW から 日本への 質問(List of issues and questions )

慰安婦問題についての質問
9. The Committee has been informed of recent public statements that there was no evidence that proved the forcible removal of “comfort women”. Please comment on this information. Please also indicate whether the State party intends to take compensatory measures on behalf of “comfort women” in countries other than those covered by the Asian Women’s Fund, including in China and Timor-Leste, and
prosecute the perpetrators. Please indicate whether the State party intends to
reintegrate into school textbooks references to the issue of “comfort women”, and
raise awareness among the population of the issue.

***********************************************************
2016.1
日本 から CEDAWの質問への回答(Reply to List of Issues)

(Answer)
1. With the recognition that the comfort women issue continues to impact the development of Japan-ROK (Republic of Korea) relations, Governments of Japan and the ROK agreed at the Japan-ROK Summit Meeting held on November 2, 2015, to continue and accelerate consultations on the issue toward its conclusion as promptly as possible. Subsequently, intensive bilateral consultations, including the Director-General consultations between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries, were carried out. On December 28, the Foreign Ministers of Japan and the ROK met and made an announcement (see Attachment) at a joint press occasion. Later on the same day, the leaders of Japan and the ROK spoke over the telephone and confirmed the content of the announcement. With this agreement, the Government of Japan (GOJ) and the Government of the Republic of Korea confirmed that the issue of comfort women is resolved finally and irreversibly.

2. Under the above-mentioned circumstances, the GOJ answers the questions posed by the committee as follows:

(1) Regarding the question on the “recent public statements that there was no evidence that proved the forcible removal of ‘comfort women’ ”:
The GOJ has conducted a full-scale fact-finding study on the comfort women issue since the early 1990s when the issue started to be taken up as a political issue between Japan and the ROK. The fact-finding study included 1) research and investigation on related documents owned by relevant ministries and agencies of the GOJ, 2) document searches at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, as well as 3) hearings of relevant individuals including former military parties and managers of comfort stations and analysis of testimonies collected by the Korean Council. “Forceful taking away” of comfort women by the military and government authorities could not be confirmed in any of the documents that the GOJ was able to identify in the above-mentioned study.

(2) Regarding the question “whether the State party intends to take compensatory measures on behalf of ‘comfort women’ in countries other than those covered by the Asian Women’s Fund, including in China and Timor-Leste, and prosecute the perpetrators”:
The GOJ does not have such intention of doing so.

(3) Regarding the question “whether the State party intends to reintegrate into school textbooks references to the issue of ‘comfort women’, and raise awareness among the population of the issue”:
The GOJ is not in a position to answer the question on the specific contents which are taken up in school textbooks and how these contents are described, since the GOJ does not adopt a government-designated textbook system.

***********************************************************

<参考ニュース>
産経 2016年01月31日
【「慰安婦」日韓合意】強制連行を国連で否定へ 政府、来月初報告へ

【署名 / カルフォルニア州教育委員会 教科書改定案】公立学校で慰安婦問題を教えることに反対します

「ニューヨーク ビズ 」の署名広告をご覧になった方ここをクリックしてください

*****************************************************************

子どもたちを、先の見えない歴史論争に巻き込んでよいのでしょうか?

カルフォルニア州教育委員会公立高校カリキュラム改正案が、「日本軍慰安婦は性奴隷、20世紀最大の人身売買」という内容になっています。詳細はこちら

これに対し、カルフォルニア在住の方が反対署名を立ち上げました。

ご賛同いただける方、署名ご協力お願いいたします。

*****************************************************************

カルフォルニア教育委員会 へ
California Department of Education

カリフォルニアの公立学校で慰安婦問題を教えることに反対します
NOT to teach ‘Comfort Women’ in California Schools

署名はこちら
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
http://chn.ge/1KFLbYC

【請願】 カリフォルニアの公立学校で慰安婦問題を教えることに反対します

関係者の方々へ

カリフォルニア州教育省は、最近、第10学年用の世界史の教科書に「慰安婦」についての記述を含めるというカリキュラム修正案を提示しました。私達は、この修正案に断固反対いたします。

(第10学年– World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World Chapter of the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools. 469ページ 913~919行
ダウンロード)

1. 「慰安婦」は性奴隷制度で20世紀最大の人身売買の一つである、というのは大きな誤解に基づいています。何十万人もの女性が日本軍によって強制的に拉致されたことを立証するような証拠は、幾つかの反対尋問を経ていない証言以外は未だ明らかにされておりません。 教科書である以上、生徒達が事実ではないことを事実として信じ込んでしまうような可能性は極力排除すべきであり、充分に議論し尽くされた事柄のみが内容として取り上げられるべきであることは、議論の余地がありません。

2. カリフォルニアの住民は、これまでに充分すぎるくらい「慰安婦問題」に関する議論をしてきました。私達の地域には多すぎるくらいの韓国人慰安婦の像や碑が建てられており、その設置を巡る論議の過程でコミュニティは賛成派と反対派に分断され、隣人同士の間にも論争が起きています。慰安婦問題における終わりの見えない対立に、私達は巻き込まれてしまったのです。

未だ論争の途上にある慰安婦に関する歴史教育は、本当に必要なのでしょうか?…いいえ!
このカリフォルニアで、私達の税金を使ってすべきことでしょうか?…いいえ!
カリフォルニアの生徒達を、先の見えない歴史論争に巻き込んでよいのでしょうか?…いいえ!

カリフォルニア教育省の公正さと透明性に期待いたします。 有難うございました。

I have been living in California for the last 38 years, originally having come from Japan. I have two children who are mixed race, and have friends from all over the world who live in the United States.

As a teenager, I was deeply moved by Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech for equality and overcoming our differences. The ideal and the value of the United States is what makes this country special, and should be held in high regard.

When my daughter was in High School, she told me about a friend of hers who was reluctant to tell his father that she was part Japanese, because his father hated Japanese people.

I was shocked. My daughter genuinely did not know why such prejudice existed because she was not taught hate for others at home.

Now, my friends who are mothers of Japanese American children tell me that their children are also being bullied, or called degrading names because of the political conflict in East Asia.

I am appalled to find that now the California Department of education is considering using text books that teach a highly controversial version of history to the children, and which will affect children with Japanese heritage.

Please support the fundamental American values of equality and opportunity for all. Stand with us for truth and fairness.

Please sign this petition to let people hear your “NO”.

【Petition】 NOT to teach ‘Comfort Women’ in California Schools
To whom it may concern,

We are writing to express our strong opposition to the recently proposed revision in the 10th grader’s history curriculum to include the controversial dispute known as ‘Comfort Women’ (Grade 10 – World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World, Page 469, lines 913~919).

1. “Comfort Women” should not be taught as an example of ‘institutionalized sexual slavery’ or ‘one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the twentieth century.’ Besides some testimonies without cross-examinations, there is no reliable historical proof which indicates ‘hundreds of thousands of women forced into’ such situations. It is obvious that textbooks should only take up incidents which are thoroughly discussed to avoid even a small possibility of making students to believe what is not true.

2. The residents of California already have had enough of arguments concerning the Comfort Women Issue. There are already too many controversial statues and monuments of Korean Comfort Women in our community. On the process of installing such statues, our community has been divided and disputes have aroused among neighbors. Because of the Comfort Women issue, we were driven into never-ending conflicts.

Do we really need this controversial history education of Comfort Women? No!
Do we really want to use our tax money for this? No!
Should students in California get involved into such endless disputes? No!

We are expecting to see the fairness and transparency of the California Department of Education.

Thank you.

*****************************************************************

★ こちらの署名も未だの方、よろしくお願いいたします。
米軍レポートにあるように「慰安婦は高給を得ていた売春婦」であり、「米軍も慰安婦を利用していた」ことを書いてください
Write “Comfort Women were well paid prostitutes, sold their service to US Army as well”
https://goo.gl/pZJXTl

「慰安婦=性奴隷派と否定派」 NGO意見レポート一覧 / 国連 女子差別撤廃委員会 63セッション(2016.2.15~3.4)

「ニューヨーク ビズ 」の署名広告をご覧になった方ここをクリックしてください

*****************************************************************

ジュネーブ国連女子差別撤廃委員会
63セッション(2月15日~3月4日)に提出されたNGO意見レポート一覧

委員会では日本についての検討会議が2016年2月16日(火)に行われます。

日本の左派NGOは、いつものように慰安婦=性奴隷とのレポートを委員会に出しています。

国連の人権委員会において、性奴隷の主張は日本のNGOが長年取組んできたことです。慰安婦=性奴隷は日本のNGO発で、世界に定着したのもその成果です。

前回の委員会(2009年)に引き続き、今回も韓国の挺身隊問題対策協議会がレポートを提出しています。

一方、今回は性奴隷を否定する側の意見レポートも複数提出されています。一般の日本国民・市民団体が国連に働きかける重要さを知り、行動し始めたと言えるでしょう。

※クリックするとレポートがダウンロードできます。
新たにレポートが公開され次第、追記します。

 

<慰安婦は性奴隷でないと主張する側のレポート>
★ Japan Family Value Society(PDF)

★ Association to Achieve True Equality between Men and Women(PDF)

★ Coalition of Three Parties for Communicating Historical Truth(PDF)
Coalition of Three Parties for Communicating Historical Truth- Annex(PDF)

★ NGO GAHT-US Corporation(PDF)

★ Ninohashi Club(PDF)

★ Researchers of History on Modern Japan (Word)

★ Happiness Realization Research Institute(Word)

★ Nadeshiko Action(PDF)

 

<慰安婦は性奴隷と主張する側のレポート>

★ The Korean Council 挺身隊問題対策協議会(Word)
レポートの10ページに掲載されている画像
※あまり品が良くありませんが実際に資料として挺対協が掲載しているのでここに貼ります。
The Korean Coucnil_10page_image

★ Amnesty International (PDF)
※タイトル「JAPAN’S MILITARY SEXUAL SLAVERY SYSTEM BEFORE AND DURING WORLD WAR II」 大戦前と大戦中の日本軍性奴隷制度

★ Minority Women, Indigenous Ainu, Buraku and Zainichi Korean (Word)
※P15 桜田義孝(自民党)議員の「慰安婦は『売春婦』」とする発言(2016.1.14)は性差別・人種差別のヘイトスピーチと記している

★ New Japan Women’s Association(PDF)
※慰安婦問題についてP2,P4,P5,P7

★ NGO Joint Report / Japan NGO Network for CEDAW(PDF)
※慰安婦問題P23-28WAM(女たちの戦争と平和資料館)によるレポート
※レポート共同提出団体一覧 P88~

★ Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace WAM(女たちの戦争と平和資料館)

 

 

<その他の問題を扱うレポート>
★ Japan National Group of Mentally Disabled People (JNGMDP) and CPAO (Child Poverty Action Osaka)(PDF)

★ Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan(PDF)

★ Japan Federation of Women’s Organizations(PDF)

★ Working Women’s Network(PDF)

★ OutRight Action International(Word)

 

*********************************************************

プレ・セッション(63 Pre-Sessional Working Group)(2015年7月27日~31日)に提出されたNGO意見レポート一覧

★ the Japan Federation of Bar Associations 日本弁護士連合会
Report by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations

★ Kaleidoscope Australia
The Rights of Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LBTI) Women in Japan

★ Allies Law Office / Space Allies すぺーすアライズ
Discrimination in the field of reproductive rights in Japan

★ Japan NGO Network for CEDAW 日本女性差別撤廃条約NGOネットワーク
List of Issues and Questions from NGOs For the Japan Seventh and Eighth Periodic Reports

★ Gay Japan News and ILGA ゲイ・ジャパン・ニュース
Discrimination against Lesbian, Bisexual Women and Transgender People on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

★ JNDMDP and CPAO joint submission
the Japan National Group of Mentally Disabled People (JNGMDP) and CPAO (Child Poverty Action Osaka)

★ なでしこアクション
Issue of Comfort Women

 

【在米の皆様へ】カルフォルニア教育委員会へ「教科書に慰安婦性奴隷反対」を届けましょう【署名用紙ダウンロード】

「ニューヨーク ビズ 」の署名広告をご覧になった方ここをクリックしてください

*****************************************************************
ブログ Truth Seeker for Comfort Women Issue を主催しているカルフォルニア在住の方より、「在米日本人の皆様へ—カルフォルニア教育委員会 ”慰安婦性奴隷” 教科書記述に反対! ご協力のお願い」が届きました。

★ ご協力お願いのチラシ(署名用紙付き)
日本語版 ダウンロード
英語版ENGLISH ダウンロード

カルフォルニア教育委員会は2016年2月29日(月)まで意見を受け付けています。

※カルフォルニア教育委員会 公立高校カリキュラム改正案

*****************************************************************

協力方法

【 直筆署名 】 署名用紙 ダウンロード

署名した用紙はスキャンしてpdf書類化して電子メールの添付書類で以下のアドレスまでお送りください。
truthseekercomfortwomen@gmail.com
2月27日期限。その後、29日の期限までにまとめて提出します。

個人情報の載った署名用紙をtruthseekercomfortwomen@gmail.comに送るのには抵抗がある、という方がいらっしゃいましたら、教育委員会へ意見書を電子メールで送る際に署名用紙を添付でお送り下さい。
CA教育委員会メール  HSSframework@cde.ca.gov

どれくらいの方が直筆署名にご協力頂けたか把握しその数をこちらからも教育委員会へ報告したいので、住所の部分などを見えなくした形のpdfを truthseekercomfortwomen@gmail.com まで送っていただければ幸いです。

 

【 意見メッセージを送る その1 】

<その1> カルフォルニア州教育委員会 のウエブサイトに行き、コメントを残す。
改定案への意見受付は2月29日まで。

http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/cd/ap/mainpage.aspx

Subjectで School Curriculum を選択し、名前とメールアドレス(必須)を記入する。 コメント記入は 1500文字まで

記入例

RE: 2014-2016 Draft History-Social Science Framework

Chapter 15: Grade Ten – World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World Chapter of the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools
Page 469. Lines 913~919: “Comfort Women,” a euphemism for sexual … into these situations during Japanese occupation.”

My comments:
As the education of children is highly important, it is crucial that history be taught in a fair, neutral, and fact-based way. Please consider the following points. Scholars in South Korea and Japan have confirmed the most Korean comfort women were recruited by civilians (not the Japanese Army), indentured for defined terms, and were allowed to return home [Refs at http://goo.gl/9xM3LL]. Destitute families sent their daughters in exchange for payment, or poverty-stricken women joined of their own accord, possibly after being deceived about the nature of the work by the civilian recruiters. As such, their situation was very different from slavery of antebellum America.

At schools, please teach accurate history as follows:
“Comfort Women” were women who were indentured to work at civilian-owned brothels that accompanied Japanese military units in occupied territories before and during the war. The women came from poor rural families, and many may have been deceived by civilian recruiters, who promised work at hospitals and factories, but instead took the women to brothels. The women could go home after a defined period of time.

Thank you

以上文字数(スペース込み) 1493文字

 

【 意見メッセージを送る その2 】

メール を教育委員会へ送る

メアド HSSframework@cde.ca.gov
改定案への意見受付は2月29日まで。

メッセージ例文(1)
RE: 2014-2016 Draft History-Social Science Framework for Grade Ten

To : The State Board of Education Members,
The History–Social Science Subject Matter Committee of the Instructional Quality
Commission Members

Chapter 15: Grade Ten – World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World Chapter of the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools. Page 469. Lines 913 ~ 919: “Comfort Women,” a euphemism for sexual ~~~ forced into these situations during Japanese occupation.

My comments are:
The history of comfort women is highly disputed between the nations of S. Korea and Japan. Many facts have become distorted and exaggerated by anti-Japanese activists. Reputable South Korean-born professors, Yu-ha Park (http://goo.gl/uSWM44) and C. Sarah Soh (http://goo.gl/C83b8C), who interviewed Korean comfort women and researched the subject in great detail, report that most Korean comfort women were recruited by civilians, that most worked at civilian-owned brothels, that many were paid (or their families had been paid), and that the women could return home when they served a certain number of years or fulfilled their indenture. Dishonest civilian recruiters deceived the women. The research by these professors indicate that, in Korea, comfort women were NOT systematically abducted by Japanese Imperial Army. Some instances of forcible recruitment did occur in territory Japan occupied during the war, but were committed by rogue soldiers acting illicitly. Unfortunately, these cases have been inappropriately generalized to all comfort women. Historically, other nations’ militaries have used indentured prostitutes, and it is unfair to target just Japan. When only one group is selectively targeted, it is “profiling” and, thus, wrong.

I humbly request that educators carefully investigate the facts before teaching inaccurate history in public schools. Historical evidence indicates: In the early 1900s, many people in Korea and Japan lived in dire poverty. The vast majority of Korean comfort women had been sent by their parents in exchange for advance payment or joined on their own, driven by poverty and the patriarchal nature of Korean society, where daughters were often under-appreciated and given little autonomy. The brokers who recruited Korean comfort women were civilians, and many were Korean men; dishonest brokers deceived the women. The Japanese military did NOT systematically dragoon young Korean girls and women.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Your name

 

メッセージ例文(2)
RE: 2014-2016 Draft History-Social Science Framework for Grade Ten
To : The State Board of Education Members,
The History–Social Science Subject Matter Committee of the Instructional Quality Commission Members

Chapter 15: Grade Ten – World History, Culture, and Geography: The Modern World Chapter of the History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools. Page 469. Lines 913 ~ 919: “Comfort Women,” a euphemism for sexual ~~~ forced into these situations during Japanese occupation.

The history of comfort women is highly disputed between the nations of S. Korea and Japan, and hyperboles abound. As the education of children is important, it is essential that all claims are carefully confirmed before teaching them as uncontested facts. Please consider the following points:

(1) Lines 917-919: “most argue that hundreds of thousands of women were forced into these situations during Japanese occupation.” EVIDENCE BASED FINDINGS: All historians and scholars agree that the exact number of comfort women is uncertain [Refs. 1,2]. However, estimates by scholars who conduct research on this topic range typically in the tens of thousands [Refs. 1,3]. Although “most” activists and politically-based groups claim the number is “hundreds of thousands,” reputable scholars generally do not state such a high number.

(2) Lines 913-915. “‘Comfort Women,’ a euphemism for sexual slaves, were taken by the Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during the war.” FINDINGS: Scholars and researchers have confirmed the most Korean comfort women were recruited by civilians (not the Japanese Army), served for defined periods of time, were often paid (or their families paid), and were allowed to return home. [Refs 1-4] As such, many scholars explicitly do not use the expression “sexual slavery”, as it would be misleading. The expression “sexual slaves” was popularized by, inter alia, lawyers filing lawsuits, activists, politicians, and journalists conveying what others said, and thus now permeates the Internet and media.

(3) Lines 915-917. “‘Comfort Women’ can be taught as an example of institutionalized sexual slavery, and one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the twentieth century.” EVIDENCE BASED FINDINGS: As the number of comfort women is uncertain (see above), it would be inappropriate to claim outright that it is “one of the largest cases of human trafficking” of the last century. Again, many neutral scholars explicitly avoid the expression “sexual slavery”, as it would be misleading. A small fraction of comfort women in territories Japan occupied during the war (e.g., Indonesia) were forcibly acquired by local military personnel, but this was done by soldiers acting independently [Ref. 1]. The women were freed after about two months when a higher ranking officer discovered the situation, and the personnel responsible were later punished.

Few things are more important than children’s education, and it is crucial that history be taught in a fair, neutral, and fact-based way. The tragic results of history being taught in a biased way can be seen in the Middle East, where past misdeeds are often exaggerated and only one side’s version of events is presented. We urge that the proposed additions (lines 913-919) be shelved until their veracity is confirmed/disproved in a neutral and unbiased way, e.g., by consulting scholars who have conducted in-person research in this field, such as Prof. C. Sarah Soh (San Francisco State University), and Prof. Yuha Park (Sejong University, S. Korea), and Prof. George Akita (University of Hawaii).

References: [1] C. Sarah Soh, “The Comfort Women,” University of Chicago Press, Chicago (2008). [2] Yuha Park, “Comfort Women of the Empire,” Asahi Shimbun Publications (2014). [3] Ikuhito Hata, “No Organized or Forced Recruitment: Misconceptions about Comfort Women and the Japanese Military,” Professor Emeritus, Nihon University. [4] United States Office of War Information Report No. 49, 1944 (All Refs at http://goo.gl/9xM3LL)
Thank you for your time and consideration,

Your name