comfort woman

The comfort women system was a euphemistic term coined by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II to refer to a large contingent of female sex slaves who were recruited and forced into prostitution across several countries in East Asia and the Pacific Islands. These victims, most of whom were young girls and women kidnapped from their homes and communities, served as 'comfort women' or 'duty women' for the Japanese soldiers stationed on the front lines. The practice started as early as the late 1920s but intensified after the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and continued until the surrender of Japan in August 1945. This systematic abuse and exploitation of Asian women was part of the broader policy of colonialism and militarization that characterized the expansionist agenda of the Japanese empire. Despite numerous international calls for justice and compensation, the issue remains unresolved to this day, perpetuating the trauma and suffering of surviving comfort women and their descendants.