World · East Asia & Pacific · 17 hrs ago
Research identifies at least 39 wartime industrial comfort stations in Japan
Research has identified at least 39 industrial comfort stations in Japan during the Asia-Pacific War.
They were linked to coal mines and other war-related industries that relied on Korean workers.
Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony, and an estimated 700,000 civilians from there were forcibly brought to Japan.
The establishments used Korean women to provide sexual services to Korean men, and companies were encouraged to use them as a way to keep workers from fleeing.
A 1945 paper recommended having about 10 women from the Korean Peninsula for every 1,000 Korean laborers.
A Korea Museum researcher says the practice reflected discrimination based on both gender and ethnicity.
The findings draw on a decade of document and field research, along with interviews with experts; the sources do not describe what happens next.
Research has identified at least 39 wartime industrial comfort stations across Japan for Korean male laborers.
The Korea Museum identified sites through 10 years of documentary and field research, compared with expert interviews conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun.
The stations operated near coal mines and other mining sites, with Korean women providing sexual services to Korean workers.
Japan mobilized workers from the Korean Peninsula between 1939 and 1945, while the peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule.
A 1945 paper recommended providing women from the peninsula near coal mines as part of efforts to prevent workers from fleeing and increase production.
- Who
- Korean women were made to work at the stations, which served Korean male laborers mobilized to Japan.
- What
- Research identified at least 39 wartime industrial comfort stations across Japan.
- When
- During the Asia-Pacific War; workers were mobilized from 1939 to 1945.
- Where
- Across Japan, including Hokkaido, Fukuoka Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture.
- Why
- The establishments were used as part of labor management measures, including efforts to prevent workers from fleeing and encourage production.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
What emerges from the testimonies of various people involved is the idea that Korean women were to be 'assigned' to Korean workers. This reflects both discrimination against women and discrimination based on ethnicity.
It would be convenient to have women from the peninsula there.
The Japanese government mobilized workers from the Korean Peninsula under annual labor mobilization plans.
A paper submitted to the Kyushu branch of the coal control association described special comfort stations and proposed placing women from the peninsula near coal mines.
The Korea Museum conducted 10 years of documentary and field research into the stations.
- Identified stations
- At least 39 across Japan
- Labor mobilization
- 1939–1945
- Research organization
- Korea Museum, a certified nonprofit organization in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
- Named locations
- Hokkaido, Fukuoka Prefecture and Mitsubishi Hashima Coal Mine in Nagasaki Prefecture
Sources
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