JAPAN'S COMFORT WOMEN

1932 – 1945

Between 1932 and 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army kidnapped and forced nearly 200,000 women and girls into military sexual slavery. These women were from occupied countries like Korea, China, and the Philippines—with a significant number hailing from Korea. The Japanese officials rationalized the comfort women, a term derived from the Japanese word "ianfu," as a system to enhance the morale of soldiers and curb the rape of local women.

Comfort stations were established everywhere the Japanese troops went. Comfort women were ordered to cook and clean during the daytime, and were raped every night. A single comfort woman was expected to serve five to sixty soldiers per day. Some of the comfort women were as young as twelve years old.

A scant number of records of comfort women has been recovered. It is believed that approximately ninety percent of comfort women did not survive the war. However, many of those who did survive kept their pain private, hiding in shame for decades to come. They were often left with sexually transmitted diseases, post-traumatic stress disorder, and were unable to bear children of their own.