DOCUMENT REVEALS HOW JAPANESE WOMEN WERE DUPED INTO POSTWAR SEX WORK NOWADAYS - NIIGATA JAPAN

DOCUMENT REVEALS HOW JAPANESE WOMEN WERE DUPED INTO POSTWAR SEX WORK NOWADAYS - NIIGATA JAPAN   

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

NIIGATA

Brothels established in Niigata Prefecture for Allied occupation forces immediately after Japan's surrender in World War II misled women they recruited by hiding the nature of the work, according to a recently discovered official document.

Experts say the record demonstrates Japan's subservient attitude, symbolized by a willingness to offer local women up to ensure its occupiers were mollified.

The document, compiled by a police station in the now-defunct prefectural town of Tsugawa between fiscal 1945 and 1946, is preserved in the Niigata Prefectural Archives.

It provides a rare glimpse into the early postwar chaos, when local authorities scrambled to respond to the demands of occupying troops and the directives of Japan's central government.

On August 18, 1945 -- just three days after Japan's surrender -- the former Ministry of Home Affairs issued a nationwide notice calling for the establishment of "comfort stations" to serve the Allied occupation forces.

According to the Niigata Prefectural Policy Department's historical records, 151 such facilities were set up in Niigata Prefecture alone.

A report based on telephone instructions from the prefectural police chief to the head of the Tsugawa police station reveals the brothels' urgent efforts to recruit comfort women.

It also records the central government's request that police stamp out provocative newspaper advertisements designed to attract recruits. Officials were instructed to deal with agents who embellished the appeal of the work or hid the true nature and location of the jobs on offer.

"The agents tried to lure impoverished women by promising good clothing, food, and housing in various regions, including Niigata," said Hideaki Shibata, author of "Sexual Violence in the Occupation Era."

"In reality, the work at these brothels was effectively compulsory for women who had no other means of survival."

Shibata added that it was doubtful whether government orders to crack down on such recruitment practices were enforced effectively. "The police were responsible for both issuing business permits to comfort stations and supervising them," he noted, so there was an inherent conflict of interest.

A report submitted by the governor of Niigata to the ministry detailed the official fee structure: 20 yen per engagement, 30 yen for up to an hour, and 200 yen for an overnight stay. For context, at the time, a civil servant's monthly salary was only a few hundred yen.

Although the comfort stations were officially intended to "maintain moral order and prevent unfortunate incidents," the governor's report noted that various accidents and problems were increasing because "occupation troops tend to become unruly and arrogant."

"Since the fees were clearly set for officers, it is likely that lower-ranking soldiers, unable to afford frequent visits, resorted to sexual violence," said Song Yon Ok, director of the Cultural Center Arirang, a Korean cultural institution in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.

Song, who studies gender history, said the system reflected both desperation and opportunism within postwar Japanese bureaucracy.

The Niigata document also records that officers from the occupiers were often "in a state of satisfaction" after being entertained at Japanese restaurants or by geisha.

"Given their wartime experience in managing comfort stations for the Japanese military, bureaucrats likely believed they could appease the occupation forces through sexual entertainment," Song explained. "This clearly reflects the mindset of Japanese bureaucrats."

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