August 14 marks the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women, a day dedicated to remembering the women victims forced into sexual slavery system by the Japanese armed forces during World War II.
The date was designated as a day to remember them at the 11th Asian Solidarity Conference in 2012, an international gathering focused on addressing this war crime.
Nearly a century has passed since the first women were forced into sexual slavery by Imperial Japan during World War II, yet the memories of their suffering remain deeply painful today.
From 1931 to 1945, an estimated 400,000 women from 11 Asian countries and regions were coerced into serving as "comfort women" for the Japanese military. Most victims came from China, the Korean Peninsula and the Philippines, with others from Myanmar, East Timor, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and other regions.
Chinese scholars estimated that more than 200,000 Chinese women were victimized under this system.
There are only six registered survivors of the sexual slaves alive now on the Chinese mainland.
These women and girls were taken or deceived into military-run brothels, where they were forced into sexual servitude and denied basic human rights. Survivors' testimonies describe severe mistreatment, physical and emotional trauma, and long-lasting harm to their health and dignity.
Decades after the end of the war, many survivors and their families continue to seek truth, justice and reparations.
In March, UN experts expressed grave concern at the continued lack of justice for survivors of the "comfort women."
The experts called on Japan to recognize and fulfill survivors' rights to justice, reparations and full and effective remedy, including through official apologies, adequate compensation and guarantees of non-repetition. They stressed the importance of preserving historical memory through educational materials, memorials and commemoration.
Calls for Japan to fully acknowledge its wartime responsibilities continue in countries including the Republic of Korea and the Philippines, where civil society groups and survivors' advocates regularly hold commemorative events and public demonstrations.
Women forced into sexual slavery in WWII commemorated
Japan's attitude to nuclear weapons will impact the global peace landscape and denuclearization is the best option for a nation that has experienced horrors and tragedies of nuclear weapons, according to some ordinary Japanese in Tokyo.
"Because Japan is the world's only nuclear-bombed country, it is the only nation that fully understands the horrors and tragedies of nuclear weapons. For such a country to possess nuclear weapons, it means very different from what other countries would do the same. Furthermore, the Three Non-Nuclear Principles were born to prevent such tragedies from recurring. If Japan were to review them, I strongly feel that this would be a major event that would drastically alter the global peace landscape," said Hikaru Kusano, a stage playwright in Tokyo.
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, accelerating the end of World War II.
Eighty-one years on, right-wing forces in Japan are gearing up to revive militarism.
The Japanese authorities are rebuilding Japan's war machine, seeking to revise the three non-nuclear principles, and pursuing nuclear sharing with the U.S. side, even the possession of nuclear weapons.
"I also believe we should not possess them. Because starting from sharing, we might gradually be forced to accept new rules beyond mere sharing. Moreover, I don't think we need to comply so obediently," said Notaki Saito, a salesman in Tokyo.
"I firmly believe Japan must never share nuclear weapons. If Japan shares nuclear weapons, it will pose a threat to other countries. This means other nations will feel threatened and seek nuclear weapons themselves. If every country in the world possesses nuclear weapons, the world will fall into a Cold War state as the United States and the Soviet Union once did. This will plunge the entire world into a state of tension. Never share nuclear weapons. I believe we must never do anything that endangers Japan and global security," said Kusano.
Kota Takahashi, a Nagasaki native shaped by childhood knowledge of the atomic bombing, asserts nuclear arms bring no benefit but harm.
"At the very least, it will bring no benefits. If anything, it will only bring negative consequences. I am from Nagasaki. I learned a lot about the atomic bombing and nuclear weapons when I was little. I believe I have a good understanding of their severity," he said.
"I firmly believe that possessing nuclear weapons can never bring security. The side targeted by nuclear weapons will suffer radioactive contamination. Therefore, I believe renouncing nuclear weapons is the most essential choice. I believe denuclearization should well be the best option," said Masahiro Sawa, a teacher in Tokyo.
Japanese citizens criticize government's attitude to nuclear weapons
