Japanese politicians scrambled to distance themselves from mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, after he said forced recruitment of Asian women to work in military brothels had been necessary to maintain discipline among soldiers. "If you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary," he told reporters. "That's clear to anyone." That may be clear to him, just as "Gang rape is democracy in action" was crystal clear to MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Zainudin Nordin.
Tell that to Swee Lian, author of "Tears of a Teen-age Comfort Woman", a 16 year old from Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) forced to be a "
jugun-ianfu" (army comfort women). After her parents were imprisoned and tortured to death for supporting the China Relief Fund to fight the Japs, while cowards were working for them as translators and policemen, Swee Lian was raped by the
Kempeitai and sent to the army brothel as girl number 23. The inmates were referred to as "sisters" and told they were members of a "patriotic women's army" who came from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and the "newly liberated territories in Southeast Asia".
"Work" started at nine o'clock, with a lunch break, followed by the "afternoon session" which lasted until six in the evening. One girl estimated her "team" had to "entertain" about 600 soldiers - allowing 10 minutes per session and a 10 minute "interval" between each session - over a period of 8 hours. The math nauseated Swee Lian.
Fortunately her boyfriend, who was a member of the anti-Japanese guerrillas taking the fight to the jungles of Borneo, managed to rescue her from the brothel and found her a sanctuary in a Buddhist nunnery in Singapore, where she hid until Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945.
Prime Minister Abe was among several senior politicians who distanced themselves from Hashimoto's remarks. Meanwhile, Hashimoto attempted to justify his remarks, telling reporters that he had been referring to the atmosphere of the times, just like someone trying to put in context the outrageous quote of Terry Goodkind.
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Seems that politicians the world over always say the most controversial things then try to excuse themselves in the most naive ways possible.
ReplyDeleteKhaw: "Many of us in this House have been serving Singapore for decades, long before she entered this House. Please, don't behave as if you're the only patriot in this House."
ReplyDeleteThe only patriot is the one who served as a translator to the Japanese during the Occupation?
Actually on record, only 2 patriots. Somehow these 2 patriots manoeuvred to become PM and President of SinCity.
DeleteI will not be surprised if both worked in tandem for the Jap military brothel in addition to other primary duties....one did the translation while the other acted as guard to ensure no victims escaped.
Haha.....
DeleteMe tends to feel the Two Patriots who worked for the Japanese have breeded more patriots in PAP.
However, all their loyalty only for the Family.
patriot
Wow Patriot, counting you in makes 3 patriots: )
DeleteOn August 25, 1963, over 120,000 people, mainly Chinese, gathered in front of City Hall to demand $50 million in compensation for the Sook Ching blood debt. In addition, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce planned a boycott against Japanese goods to draw international attention to the situation. Unfortunately, the boycott would have coincided with the Singapore merger with Malaya and had to be suspended indefinitely much to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s relief. The Prime Minister was acutely conscious of the help Japan could provide a developing nation in terms of capital investment and technical industry expertise and refused to allow the blood debt to alienate Japan. Lee writes in his autobiography, “I wanted to establish good relations to encourage their industrialists to invest in Singapore.”
DeleteLKY was also aware of the political divisiveness of the issue. Before the debt was settled, it was used as an issue to garner support during party elections particularly by PAP and Barisan Sosialis. A member of the Singapore Legislative Assembly was recorded as saying: “As a matter of fact, this matter of blood debt involves the sentiments of many people. It is actually quite an emotional matter. So if anyone can make use of this matter for political purposes, he will do it.”
Barisan Sosialis accused the PAP of siding with Japan and breaking its promises to the people. There was some truth to this for Lee Kuan Yew was reluctant to pursue the matter for economic reasons as shown above. He also used the British as a stalling factor, claiming that the British government was still in charge of foreign affairs and that Singapore was in no position to make demands. During this time, there was a hostile relationship between the PAP government and the ethnic Chinese public. The blood debt had become a politically divisive problem.
Finally, the blood debt was considered officially settled on October 26, 1966 when Japan pledged $25 million in grants and another $25 million in special loans as quasi-reparations. However, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce expressed surprise that the government had accepted the offer without consulting either the Chamber or the Appeal Committee for Singapore Chinese Massacred by the Japanese. The Committee in particular resented its exclusion and criticized the settlement, saying, “Settlement at government level will not eradicate the animosity of the people towards the Japanese on the issue.” The offer was considered inadequate since it was well below the original demand for $50 million. Lee had to exert personal pressure on the Chamber and the Committee to persuade them to drop the matter.
But the issue remained open. In the 1990s, the concept of blood debt evolved to include extending a call for an official ‘apology’. Thus moral responsibility for the massacres shifted from individual Japanese to Japan as a nation. Demands for an official apology for Japanese war atrocities existed as late as 1995 and continued sporadically even after Japanese Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi issued a personal apology to all Southeast Asian nations for WWII atrocities. The issue of responsibility for the sook ching continues to be a live point today although the responsibility rests on Japan as a nation rather than on specific individuals.
---
Did the people know the truths then? That LKY had worked as a translator in the Kempeitai? Was that one of the key reasons why he was not keen to pursue the matter on behalf of the victims? Did Singaporeans know then as they know now, that the President too made a tactical collaboration with the Japanese invaders before voting them into the House that is supposedly filled with "Patriots" who were there before Ms Sylvia Lim was even there?
Patriotism has gone to the pigs, cows and dogs....oops...running dogs.
DeleteKBW must have failed his English exam. By saying "Many of us in this House have been serving Singapore for decades", he means that he has been a MP "for decades", and means at least 2 decades or 20 years, right?
DeleteAccording to the cabinet's website, KBW only entered politics in October 2001. So, as of now, he has been an MP less than 12 years, and not "for decades".
So, who is being economical with the truth?
So I think ST should change its article and re-title it to "Singapore cannot afford to import M'sian politicians" instead. Especially when they haven't got any historical background or contextual understanding of what it means when they boldly claim they are the only "Patriots" in the house, which struck the people's nerves. Same goes to those who never serve NS and didn't know any better about gang rape that happened during the WW2 and still demand "cease and desist" from their stupid blind quotes.
DeleteHashimoto said that soldiers living with the daily threat of death needed some way to let off steam which was provided by the comfort women system. Maybe Singa the Lion, living with the daily threat of being nagged at, even if it's about being kind and gracious, was just hoping to be provided with a similar comfort women system.
ReplyDeleteIt so hilarious that a cartoon character or a symbol can resign.
DeleteIt just too nonsensical to me.
patriot
Good riddance. Teamy the Productivity Bee should be fired too.
DeleteTeamy went AWOL long ago. That's why our productivity has gone down.
DeleteSinga didn't resign lah. His job was overtaken by foreign talents. Instead,he wants the job of Jia Jia & Kai Kai that comes with the $8m dollar safari house. Their KPIs are lower, only need to mate once a year. Singa job can leave it to the cheap Banga.
DeleteThis Singa thingy is just a cheap publicity stunt to add zest to the NatCon, which appears to be going nowhere. Gang-rape of the minds of sinkies?
Delete"If you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary,"
ReplyDeleteFor fuck sake, bring your mother, sisters, aunties and other Japanese women to service your soldiers.
//For fuck sake, bring your mother, sisters, aunties and other Japanese women to service your soldiers.//
DeleteThey did..many were recruited via kidnapping or sold to brokers by their parents too. The Japanese were proud of the fact that each were paid 1500 yen (100 times more) when a Sergent was only paid 30 yen. They get to keep 40-50% of the keeps.
But did all these satiate their beastly hunger? No, they went on for the Nanking and SEA gang-rape. It is an bastardly acts that they try to justify their depraving acts as "necessary" after decades of historical denial.
If the comfort women are all Japanese, I have no issue with that. But they kidnapped local women in China, Korea and S.E.A. for their soldiers to rape and murder.
DeleteIf war ever breaks out in the future and the Japs are given a large dose of the same medicine, I will have no issue with that.
DeleteThe brutal truth is it may finally bring about closure and acknowledgement of their atrocities.
I thought you were writing about our brave Ah Lian.
ReplyDeleteMethinks the post is a disguised tribute to the Ah Lians of the world.
DeleteHashimoto's father -who killed himself when Hashimoto was 8years old- was Zainichi Yakuza of Osaka. So one would think that he must know the truth of 'comfort women issue', as in those days, the ultimate justification for this from the perspective of the Japanese military was "racial and rest" for their soldiers - they were overwhelmingly Korean, Chinese or Barakumin - which is of course ironic as Hashimoto is himself (allegedly) descended from Baraku.
ReplyDeleteHe made it good later, to the prestigious Waseda University and today his "Hashism" is seen as similar to Hitlerism. Japan can kiss their Co-Prosperity Sphere goodbye if they still refuse to acknowledge their deprave acts from the past. Who is going to stop them from saying the Co-Prosperity alliance is another form of voluntary business transactions if they come gang-rape the people again like they did in Nanking and other parts of SEA without owning their historical past?
*zainichi/ permanent ethnic korean residents of Japan
*yakuza/ japanese mafia
Why keep perpetuating misinformation with the "gang rape is democracy in action"? The quote was lifted out of context by Zainudin and the best we can do is fault him for poor communication skills, trying to look smart but falling flat on his face. For more enlightened commentary on the quote, see The Void Decker: http://www.voiddecker.com/2013/05/democracy-gang-rape-and-a-failure-in-communication/
ReplyDeleteor Bertha Henson: http://berthahenson.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/sorry-can-be-easy-to-say/
For those who are too lazy to read, Berth sums it up quite nicely:
Delete"Actually, how the quote could have been misconstrued boggles the mind. It was clear to me that Goodkind was saying that democracy in its purest/basest form could lead to mob rule. Yet some words were taken out of context, attributed to the MP and there were demands that he clarify whether he was for or against gang rape! Sheesh. Frankly, some responses were way out of line."
Okay, in line with the "way out of line responses", let me have a go:
Delete"Why are you guys making a mountain out of a molehill? Hashimoto was just highlighting the contributions of the women folk to the war effort, so as to encourage our brave soldiers to die in battle with a smile on their faces for the sake of the Emperor. It boggles my mind how Hashimoto's words were misconstrued."
"Why keep perpetuating misinformation with the "gang rape is democracy in action"?
DeleteWill there ever be any misinformation has he not been so dumb to quote foolishly to support his party's one-party nonsense ?
He got raped because he did not understand democracy.
DeleteTo the anonymous poster who equated Hashimoto's quote with Terry Goodkind's quote, please, you obviously didn't read Goodkind's quote or else you didn't comprehend it, if you even know the meaning of "comprehend"... 'nuff said...
DeleteHashomoto apologised.
DeleteZainudin apologised.
Why apologise if nothing wrong?
I hate to think that the Fukushima disaster/tsunami was retribution for the Japanese's WW2 crimes but this recent remark certainly dull my sympathises for them. If they still cannot come to terms with their actions 60 years ago, how do they expect their neighbours to be cordial with them?
ReplyDeletei finally understand japenis culture a little better,
ReplyDeletefinally believe in those av featuring japenis mother having sex with their son, in order to motivate them ... are indeed truth
Japan has one of the lowest Age of Consent in the world ie. 13 yrs old. That should give you an idea.
Deletehow cUm lky did not adopt his japenis master culture? instead of the woman charter?
Deletedamn ...
lky first surrendered his balls to the Japenis and thereafter to mdm kwa, hence the women's charter.
Deleteit's will be an enlightening if those "interpreters" working for their WW2 japenis masters give their opinions too..
ReplyDeletelee kuan yew, nanthan ..... love to hear your learned opinion on this matter
long live lky
Be wary of the japs and ahnehs cos they have no morale compass in their cultures - there is only ninja or karma.
ReplyDeleteIf ahnehs know karma, they would have progressed very well for thousands of years.
DeleteUnfortunately, they are only good at kamasutra, rape here, rape there and rape everywhere.
I think my CPF monies slated for original withdrawal @ 55 have also been gang raped by someone who called themselves patriots.
ReplyDeleteWho can I turn to for justice ?
learn from the neighbour up north for a start ....
DeleteWho can you turn to for justice?
DeleteYour friends & relatives.
The last court of appeal will listen to your petition in GE 2016.
make sure your friends & relatives support your vote for the Opposition.