Pacific War Research Articles

Contracting for Sex? “True Story” of the so-called “Comfort Women” during World War II

Criticism has erupted around the world over the paper “Contracting for sex in the Pacific War” written by Mark Ramseyer, a Mitsubishi professor at Harvard University Law School. Ramseyer insists tha “comfort women” by Japanese imperial military made “credible contracts” with recruiters regardless of the Japanese government or the Japanese military. Ramseyer further insists that the “comfort women” were certified prostitutes. However, the Japanese government selected recruiters secretly and provided them with convenience in mobilizing women. Recruiters have deceived women, mainly by job fraud, into kidnapping them to military brothels. The recruiters signed with Japanese women as barmaids (shakuhu), meaning women who served drinks. However, the Japanese military brothels were prohibited from drinking. Almost Korean women were illiterate in 1940’s, so recruiters did not make contract papers with them. It was very easy to deceive Korean women to make sexual slaves of Japanese military. The surviving Japanese military’s surgeon or soldiers testified that Korean “comfort women” had been sexual slaves.

A Troubled Alliance: Sino-British Conflicts over Tibet 1941–1945

The Pacific War was an important phase in the Sino-Tibet-Britain relationship but has not been fully analysed from a Chinese-British archival perspective. Through an analysis of some of the key events of the period, such as the negotiations over the vital Tibetan supply line, the nature of the Chinese military threat to Tibet, and the struggle to influence the Tibetan elites, the article illustrates how the war complicated the dispute over Tibet and exacerbated suspicions and tensions in the region. The war also delivered some far-reaching impacts on the future Sino-Tibetan and Sino-Indian relations: Britain’s wartime control of the disputed Assam Himalayas, later inherited by India, facilitated independent India’s claim to these territories and remains a source of conflict today.

MAMUT COPPER MINE: DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL IMPACT ON SABAH SOCIETY 1960-1990

This paper discuss the development and social impact of Mamut Copper Mine in Sabah. The early history establishment of Mamut Copper Mine (MCM) started on 1965. Mamut Copper Mine is the largest copper mine in Malaysia. The end of the Pacific War caused Japan to look for countries in Asia to become joint venture partners and raw material needs. The economic relations of Japan and Sabah depend on each other to meet their respective needs. The result of this trust and interdependence has created cooperation between this two countries. This copper mine has had a positive impact on the social community in Sabah, especially the locals. Therefore, this paper would like to see the impact of Mamut Copper Mine from the social point of view of the community, especially in the field of employment, technology transfer and welfare of the people of Sabah in particular. The scope of the year of discussion was limited from 1960s which is the initial stage of the discovery of mineral resources until the 1990s because those years were the last years of the Mamut mine producing copper products.

‘태평양전쟁’기 일본 特設海軍設營隊의 조선인 군속 동원 - 제15특설해군설영대의 사례를 중심으로 -

‘태평양전쟁’ 당시 일본 해군은 필요한 군사시설 건설을 위해 여러 부 대를 운용하였다. 해군시설부, 특설해군시설부와 특설해군설영대(이하 설영대)가 대표적이다. 특히 진주만 기습 직전부터 패전까지 약 237개가 편성된 설영대는 해군 건축부대의 상징으로 인식되고 있으며, 해군이 주 둔‧점령한 거의 모든 지역에 배치되었다. 그리고 다수의 조선인들이 군인 과 군속으로 강제동원되어 설영대에 투입되었다. 설영대에 투입된 조선 인들의 규모를 정확하게 파악할 수는 없다. 일본 정부가 한국 정부에 제 공한 두 종의 자료에서만 그 내용이 확인되기 때문이다. 군인의 경우 “구 해군군인이력원표”에서 약 17개 설영대에 투입된 조선인 약 4천 명의 기 록이, 군속의 경우 “구일본해군조선인군속관련자료(2009)”(이하 “군속자 료(2009)”)에서 약 41개 설영대에 투입된 약 4천6백 명의 기록이 확인될 뿐이다. 본고에서는 “군속자료(2009)”의 분석을 통해 설영대에 투입된 조선인 군속의 전반적인 현황을 살펴보았고, 주요 동원 실태는 제15설영대를 중 심으로 고찰하였다. 이를 통해 조선인 군속 동원의 목적의 하나였던 군사 시설 구축을 위한 노동력 수탈의 양상과 그 피해 실태를 파악하였다. 먼저 전반적인 현황을 볼 때, 조선인 군속들은 진주만 기습 직전인 1941년 11월부터 1945년 3월 경까지, 약 41개 설영대에 총 약 4천6백 명이 투입되었다. 이 중 100명 이상의 다수가 투입된 설영대가 14개에 이른 다. 이들의 투입시기는 주로 1943년과 1944년에 집중되는데, 이들이 투 입된 설영대가 배치된 지역은 전황의 추이에 따라 전개된 것으로 판단된 다. 1942년의 경우 주로 솔로몬 제도 및 동부 뉴기니아 지역, 1943년의 경우 서부 뉴기니아 및 인도네시아 지역, 1944년의 경우 마리아나 제도, 필리핀 및 오가사와라 제도, 1945년의 경우 오키나와 등으로 확인된다. 제15설영대의 경우 총 41개의 조선인 투입 설영대 중, 가장 많은 인원 (1,201명)이 투입되고 또 이들 전원이 사망한 것으로 확인되는 점에서 주 목된다. 이러한 사망 피해는 포트 모레스비 작전이라는 일본군의 ‘무모한 작전’으로 인해 발생하였다. 제15설영대에 투입된 조선인 군속의 주요한 동원 실태는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 왕성한 노동력을 지닌 20~30대의 전남과 전북 지역을 중심으로 한 충남‧북 지역 출신자가 다수 동원되어 투입되었다. 특정 지역에서 특 정 시기에 투입되는 ‘지역집단동원’의 양상을 보여준다. 둘째, 이들은 제15설영대의 편성 및 이동 과정과는 다르게, 부산에서 도라쿠를 거쳐 라바울에서 제15설영대에 투입된다. 이는 해당 지역으로 의 조선인 군속 투입의 양상을 알려줌과 동시에 일반적으로 ‘편성 이후 한달 간의 준비와 훈련’을 거친다는 기존의 연구 내용과 배치된다. 이를 설영대 동원에 있어 조선인과 일본인 간에 차이가 존재했음을 새롭게 파 악할 수 있었다. 셋째, ‘직종’에 관한 내용이 대부분의 경우 확인되지 않아, 보다 자세한 내용은 파악할 수는 없지만, 전반적으로 동부 뉴기니아에서 남해지대로 의 보급품 수송 및 도로 건설과 해안 지역의 방어 진지 구축에 투입된 것 으로 파악된다. 특히 공원 중 최고 직급이 과반 이상을 차지하고 있으며, 일부 직급의 경우 승급 시기와 사망 시기가 일치하는 점에서, 추가 기재 된 대부분의 직급은 ‘사후 추서’된 것으로 판단된다. 넷째, 이들의 사망 시기는 동부 뉴기니아에 투입된 직후인 1942년 8월 부터 패퇴하는 1943년 2월까지 매우 광범위하게 분포하고 있다. 이 중 약 10%에 이르는 120명은 1942년 9월부터 11월 사이에 남해지대의 공격과 후퇴 과정에서 사망하며, 그 이외의 대다수 인원(1,011명, 약 85%)은 상 륙 거점에 대한 연합군 공격을 방어하고 패퇴하는 과정에서 사망하는 것 으로 파악된다. 다섯째, 말라리아와 영양실조와 같은 질병으로 사망하는 인원이 상륙 직후인 1942년 9월부터 확인되며, 그 규모는 약 10%(120명)에 달한다. 이는 작전 초기부터 보급 부족에 처해 있던 극한 상황을 단적으로 보여준다.

DEVELOPMENT OF BIAK’S WAR TOURISM


 Background and Goals
 
 The Battle of Biak that took place in 1944 between the United States Army and the Japanese Army left the area of Biak in the Province of Papua with abundant remnants of war. Some years after the battle, the area became an international destination for war tourism with visitors especially originated from Japan. Tourists normally visited the battle zone for pilgrimage purposes and commemoration of the loved ones losing their lives in the battle. As time went by, Biak war tourism started to decline as pilgrimage trips to the area became rare. Special measurements should be made to help revitalize this historical zone. 
 
 
 Methods
 
 An exploratory study on Biak’s war tourism has been undertaken using a qualitative method which focused on ethnographic approach. The study adopted a perspective that tried to find out the underlying potentials of Biak’s war tourism which offered the historical battle fields in the war zone. In the study, some observations were made which includes mapping of battle fields, and bulks of war remnants—both secured and taken care of or left in situ. The researcher also made some in-depth interviews with the Japanese pilgrims to identify the motives of their visit, and with some local people which serve as curators, caretakers, or keepers of war remnant and descendants of local people who inherit the historical stories of what happened in the area.
 
 
 Expected Results/ Conclusion/ Contribution
 
 The result of the study suggested that the flow of Japanese pilgrim visits to Biak were unable to assure sustainable visit in terms of war tourism. That’s because the pilgrims were people who had close connection and was associated with the soldiers killed in the battle zone. They certainly had a deep intention of visiting the battle zone for sentimental reasons, and coupled with the wish to perform cultural ritual for respecting their beloved ancestor. As time passed, the descendants of the war casualties aged themselves and their younger generation does not have the same sentimental feeling with their elders towards the casualties of Biak War and therefore they had lower interest in making the pilgrimage to the battle zone and this led to a drastic decline of the battle zone visits. Meanwhile, potential tourists not associated with the war or the war zone do not come in a significantly big number. Yet, Biak still has the potentials to develop the tourism with a different approach and more aggressive marketing efforts which can grow potential travellers’ interest in tourism in general and Biak’s war tourism in particular. Both tangible (such as war remnants) and intangible (such as the rituals, festival, history) cultural heritages of the war zone can be smartly developed along with development of thanatourism and dark tourism naturally invented from the said historical war zone. Above all, owing to the special geographical location, Biak can be developed into a Pacific War Trail.

Mengapa Jepang Memilih Hadratussyaikh: Analisa Sejarah Ditunjuknya KH. Hasyim Asy’ari Menjadi Ketua Masyumi

This article seeks to answer why the Japanese chose KH. Hasyim Asy’ari as the chairman of Masyumi during their occupation in Indonesia (1942-1945). The data was collected from library research by scrutinizing paper and academic works that discuss Indonesia from the 1920s to its independence in 1945. This period is important to understand the historical and political conditions of the country at that time. This article also refers to two magazines of Suara MIAI that began publishing in December 1942 and Suara Masyumi Magazine issued from December 1943 onward. This article argues that the Japanese decision to choose hadratussyaikh was based on political motivation, especially to get the support of the Muslim community for Japanese efforts to fight Allied forces in the Pacific war.

Expressions of Modernity and Nationality in Matsudaira Yoritsune’s Prewar Work

ABSTRACT Matsudaira Yoritsune (1907–2001) is commonly recognized as one of the most influential Japanese composers of the twentieth century, and yet the work he completed prior to the Pacific War has remained virtually unaddressed in the scholarly literature. To compensate for this gap, this article discusses Matsudaira’s prewar work, focusing on his two primary musical influences, Japanese folk songs and gagaku court music. As Matsudaira’s aspiration was to fuse contemporary Western compositional techniques with elements from premodern Japanese music, his prewar work contributes to our understanding not just of the development of his own musical language but also of Japanese music in the 1930s in general.

Comments on “Contracting for sex in the Pacific War” by Mark Ramseyer

Comments on “Contracting for sex in the Pacific War” by Mark Ramseyer

전장으로의 강제동원: 조선인 지원병이 경험한 아시아 태평양 전쟁

전장으로의 강제동원: 조선인 지원병이 경험한 아시아 태평양 전쟁

The Fallacy of Contract in Sexual Slavery

Over seven decades have passed since the end of the Second World War, but the trauma from the cruelest war in human history continues today, perpetuated by denial of responsibility for the war crimes committed and unjust attempts to rewrite history at the expense of dignity, life, and justice for the victims of the most serious human rights violations. The latest such attempt is a troubling recharacterization of the sexual slavery enforced by Japan during the Second World War as a legitimate contractual arrangement. A recent paper authored by J. Mark Ramseyer, entitled “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War,” mischaracterizes forced sexual slavery as a contractual process by which the victims freely participated in prostitution in return for a substantial reward, denying the responsibility of the Japanese government and its military for the atrocious human rights violations committed. The argument of that paper is flawed and disregards a breath of evidence, including numerous testimonies of survivors, and the findings of scholars, NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission, that the victims were coerced, deceived, or otherwise manipulated into sexual servitude with the direct or indirect involvement of the Japanese government or the military, as admitted by Japan in the 1993 Kono Statement. This article discusses the critical flaws in the arguments advanced by the paper, the traumatic impact of such arguments on survivors of these war crimes, and the broader implications of these (and other similar) justifications for sexual exploitation.

Expression of concern: “Contracting for sex in the Pacific War” [International Review of Law and Economics, Volume 65, March 2021, 105971

Expression of concern: “Contracting for sex in the Pacific War” [International Review of Law and Economics, Volume 65, March 2021, 105971

China’s image in U.S. propaganda during the Pacific War era

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the U.S. government’s propaganda agency, the Office of War Information (OWI), set up a branch in China which became responsible for propaganda toward China. The OWI’s China branch portrayed China as a rising hero in the anti-Japanese resistance through a series of propaganda programs to promote U.S. wartime goals and policy goals in China. This image of China had three distinguishing types: (1) China as a heroic nation with all citizens engaged in resistance; (2) China as a major world power shouldering international responsibilities; (3) China as being on a “revolutionary” path modeled after the United States. The United States tried to lift the morale of the Chinese masses by highlighting wartime China’s national image, in addition to inculcating the Chinese people with a great power consciousness and ideals of international community. To achieve U.S. national interests, the OWI’s constructed image of China was deliberately edited in a way that did not completely reflect China’s reality, exposing the limits of U.S. understanding and its imagination of China.

Creation by Destruction: America and the End of the Pacific War in Light of Economic Reconversion and Post-war Reconstruction

ABSTRACT For several decades, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 have been the subject of a fierce debate between orthodox and ‘revisionist’ historians. In so doing, however, historians have for the most part neglected to look more closely into questions of a primarily economic and organisational nature in investigating the contributing factors to the American decision-making process. Accordingly, this analysis explores systematically how in addition to the predominant need of avoiding further combat casualties, a speedy conclusion of the Pacific conflict was also deemed critical to a successful re-transition of United States war-time production to a thriving peace-time economy, as well as to a comprehensive rehabilitation of the war-shattered European continent.

The Fallacy of Contract in Sexual Slavery: A Response to Ramseyer's "Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War"

Over seven decades have passed since the end of the Second World War, but the trauma from the cruelest war in human history continues today, perpetuated by denial of responsibility for the war crimes committed and unjust attempts to rewrite history at the expense of dignity, life, and justice for the victims of the most serious human rights violations. The latest such attempt is a troubling recharacterization of the sexual slavery enforced by Japan during the Second World War as a legitimate contractual arrangement. A recent paper authored by J. Mark Ramseyer, entitled “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War,” mischaracterizes forced sexual slavery as a contractual process by which the victims freely participated in prostitution in return for a substantial reward, denying the responsibility of the Japanese government and its military for the atrocious human rights violations committed. The argument of that paper is flawed and disregards a breath of evidence, including numerous testimonies of survivors, and the findings of scholars, NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission, that the victims were coerced, deceived, or otherwise manipulated into sexual servitude with the direct or indirect involvement of the Japanese government or the military, as admitted by Japan in the 1993 Kono Statement. This article discusses the critical flaws in the arguments advanced by the paper, the traumatic impact of such arguments on survivors of these war crimes, and the broader implications of these (and other similar) justifications for sexual exploitation.

Health and Medicine during and after the Pacific War: Pacific Islanders, Institutions, Infrastructure, Ingenuities

This special issue takes a critical look at the history of health and medicine in the Pacific Islands by focusing on medical infrastructure and the professionalisation of Pasifika people during and after the Pacific War. This issue brings together historical and anthropological literatures on health, medicine, and infrastructure and the authors employ methods from both disciplines, combining archival sources from state, mission, and medical institutions with oral histories and participant observation. As histories of a present where the discipline of critical global health emphasises the experiences of people who are implicated in as ‘targets’ in global health projects and technologies, these articles present Pacific centred historical consciousness in relation to health and medicine in the context of social change and upheaval. They are histories that seek to centre Pacific Islanders' experiences with respect to health and medical institutions.

Japan vs the United States (1941—1945). People and Machines

The authors study the military potential of the Japanese Empire and its changes during the Pacific War in order to understand the role of the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II. In this regard, the authors basing on the losses suffered by Japan on various fronts define the role of the USSR in the defeat of militaristic Japan. They argue that the contribution of the USSR to the victory of the Anti-Hitler coalition in Asia consists mainly in shackling significant forces of the Japanese army in Manchuria and Korea until the end of the summer of 1945, which did not allow the Japanese military to win to a large extent in the southwestern provinces of China, thereby ensuring direct communication with Burma. As for the defeat of the Japanese Air Force, which was the main striking force of Japanese militarism, there was a decisive contribution of the United States, whose Air Force also caused significant damage to Japanese industry by the summer of 1945 with strategic bombing. In this regard, the authors question the need for atomic bombing, which accelerated the surrender of Japan, but did not make it, as the authors prove, inevitable. The authors see the main reason for Japan's defeat in the strategy of its High command, putting the economy in second place. The Japanese admirals exaggerated the capabilities of carrier-based aircraft too much, which became a fatal factor for Japan in the Pacific war. The authors also claim that the actions of the Allied troops in Burma played a significant role in the defeat of Japan.

Prisoners of the Empire: Inside Japanese POW Camps by Sarah Kovner

Reviewed by: Prisoners of the Empire: Inside Japanese POW Camps by Sarah Kovner Mahon Murphy Prisoners of the Empire: Inside Japanese POW Camps. By Sarah Kovner. Harvard University Press, 2020. 336 pages. ISBN: 9780674737617 (hardcover, also available as e-book). Japan's treatment of prisoners of war is possibly one of the most often-discussed aspects of the Pacific War in popular historical accounts that tend to emphasize the exceptional character of the Japanese soldier—which was shaped in part by brutality among military peers. In Prisoners of the Empire: Inside Japanese POW Camps, Sarah Kovner argues that there was nothing inherent in the Japanese character or culture that led to the inhumane treatment of POWs by Japan during the Pacific War. While taking great pains not to deny the suffering of those held captive, Kovner explains that it was inattention to the challenges of managing POWs and a general lack of interest in their care that led to many of these cruel and inhuman conditions. She describes the Japanese military's failures in the management of POWs as "unwitting cruelty" (p. 3). Official Japanese policy throughout the war was to adhere to the Geneva Convention of 1929, but this was never backed up with any real logistical support, imperial planners were too preoccupied with the expansion of territory, and the government never created a coherent internment system with a clear chain of command. This is a thoroughly researched book. The author makes fine use of international archives spanning nine different countries, as well as interviews with various witnesses. This multiarchival approach effectively serves to include a variety of voices and to give us an understanding of the administration of the POW camps and the management of prisoners. The book also provides enough background about Japan's [End Page 411] treatment of POWs captured in conflicts prior to the Pacific War and its engagement with internationalism to orient a nonexpert reader. Indeed, one of the book's main strengths is its analysis of the role of Swiss diplomats and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Japan during the war. The use of Swiss archives helps to paint a complex picture of the ICRC and Swiss diplomats and their role in POW management. During the war, the Swiss government acted as the protecting power, and the (Swiss-led) ICRC provided relief to POWs. While these were distinct organizations, there were overlaps in personnel. The Swiss were in a difficult position, as their reports on conditions for captives in Japan were responsible for determining whether the US would retaliate against Japanese and Japanese American civilians. The Swiss legation also had to think about the welfare of its own citizens in the expanding Japanese empire, with reports that eighteen Swiss men and women had been murdered by Japanese troops in Manila (p. 117). As Kovner notes, the Swiss diplomats were "less-than-innocent bystanders" (p. 118). The United States used Swiss reports to threaten reprisals against Japanese POWs and civilian internees, and the Swiss were caught between the Americans and the Japanese constantly accusing each other of war crimes—Japan's treatment of POWs and US treatment of Japanese civilians on the US West Coast, respectively. The Swiss government and the ICRC overestimated their capacity to carry out the roles assigned to them. It was only in July 1945 that the Swiss obtained permission to visit camps in occupied territories, although just how Swiss and ICRC officials were to access these isolated facilities as the Japanese empire collapsed was another question. The book highlights the problems facing neutral countries in acting as protecting powers during wartime. In addition, Kovner gives us clear insight into how the Japanese government attempted to administer its POW camps. Here we see the War Ministry issuing constant rebuffs to the Japanese Prisoner of War Information Bureau (POWIB), even preventing it in certain cases from giving information to the Allies. Kovner takes pains to acknowledge that much of the information on the POWIB came from postwar testimony by those with an interest in absolving themselves from any wrongdoing. However, as much of the POWIB archive survived the war, Kovner is able to prove that...

“Dainty hands do useful work”: Depicting Filipino women in Japanese wartime propaganda

This article analyzes the visual depiction of women in the Tribune, the main propaganda newspaper of Japan in the Philippines during the Pacific War. Japanese wartime propaganda painted an image of a productive and cooperative Filipina, respectable and modest like her Japanese counterpart. The analysis reveals three motivations for depicting women in said light: to show a semblance of normalcy despite the turbulent war, to entice women to serve Japan’s aims, and to disprove the Japanese women’s image as subservient wives or entertainers while asserting the connection between the two countries. Analyzing the depiction of women in Japanese propaganda contributes to the understanding of war as a gendered phenomenon. Beyond seeing women as symbols of the private obligations for which men fight or as surrogate objects of sexual desire, the image of women was perceived to be instrumental in showcasing Japan’s New Order.

Confronting the “Bulwark of White Supremacy”: The African American Challenge to White Australia, 1941–1945

AbstractAfrican American interest and presence in Australia during the Pacific War was a significant if largely forgotten aspect of a conflict in which racial and colonial issues loomed large. Link...

Postcolonial Grief: The Afterlives of the Pacific Wars in the Americas by Jinah Kim

Postcolonial Grief: The Afterlives of the Pacific Wars in the Americas by Jinah Kim