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COMMENT: In an example of the kind of intellectual and historical skewing that can accompany political rewards, a Harvard professor has written a paper claiming that the Comfort Women–slave prostitutes conscripted by the Japanese army before and during World War II–volunteered for that service.
This follows J. Mark Ramseyer’s receipt of The Order of the Rising Sun awarded by the Japanese government after World War II.
In FTR #1140, we documented the enslavement of the comfort women at length and in detail.
“. . . . Worst of Japan’s slave programs was that of the Comfort Women. Young girls, many not even 13 years old, were shanghaied into sexual slavery. After the war, Tokyo insisted all Comfort Women were merely prostitutes who volunteered, and that the entire operation was run by private enterprise. Both statements are demonstrably false.
. . . . By 1932, the kempeitai resumed full control. A typical military brothel had ten barracks, each divided into ten rooms, plus a supervisor’s hut, all enclosed in barbed wire to keep the women inside. Rural brothels were tents, while railway cars were fitted out as mobile brothels. Korean and Japanese yakuza provided brutal security. Fees were based on a woman’s ethnic origin. Japanese girls were top-rated, followed by Koreans, Okinawans, Chinese, Southeast Asians. Later, Caucasian internees were added. Commissioned officers paid 3 yen, non-commissioned 2.50 yen, privates 2 yen. Bookkeeping was thorough, with forms for each woman listing daily earnings and number of clients. Up to 200,000 young women and adolescent girls were forced into this sexual slavery, to serve more than 3.5‑million Japanese soldiers. Each was expected to have fifteen partners a day. Theoretically, they received 800 yen a month, minus cost of food, clothing, medical care, soap and water. . . .”
We note that Ramseyer is the Mitsubishi Professor of Legal Studies at Harvard–manifesting the role of one of Japan’s zaibatsu in the world of academia.
The manufacturer of the Zero fighter plane which inflicted severe losses to the forces of the U.S. and its Pacific Allies during World War II, Mitsubishi was a major exploiter of slave labor during World War II.
In FTR#1107–among other programs–we noted the refusal of U.S. courts to grant compensation to U.S. POW’s who had been slaves for Japanese corporations in World War II, citing article 14 of the 1951 Peace Treaty negotiated by John Foster Dulles.
” . . . . It was a matter of some interest to victims that [U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas] Foley’s wife was a well-paid consultant to Sumitomo, one of Japan’s biggest zaibatsu conglomerates, heavily involved in wartime slave labor and a target of the lawsuits. The moment Foley ended his tenure as ambassador and returned to America, he signed on as a paid advisor and lobbyist to another huge conglomerate-Mitsubishi . . . . among the biggest employers of American slave labor during the war. . . .”
Of greater significance, perhaps, is that [Deputy Chief of Mission, Christopher J.] Lafleur is married to the daughter of former prime minister and finance minister Miyazawa, one of the three Japanese who secretly negotiated the 1951 treaty with John Foster Dulles. (Miyazawa also is considered by professor Lausier and others to be the financial overseer of the M‑Fund.) Conflict of interest does not seem to be an obstacle in diplomatic appointments to Tokyo.) . . .”
Ramseyer has also revised history in his analysis of the Kanto massacre following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, in which ethnic Koreans were subjected to a brutal pogrom by the Japanese security forces.
” . . . . Also in 2021, Ramseyer emerged at the center of controversy over a forthcoming chapter in The Cambridge Handbook of Privatization, from Cambridge University Press. Writing on the Kantō Massacre in which thousands of resident Koreans in Japan were murdered, Ramseyer depicted the Koreans as ‘gangs’ that ‘torched buildings, planted bombs, [and] poisoned water supplies.’ . . .”
1. “Harvard Professor Claims WWII Sex Slaves Volunteered” by Lindsay Wang; ASAMNews; 2/22/2021.
A paper from a Harvard professor received widespread criticism for concluding that those recruited as comfort women did so voluntarily rather than being forced into sexual slavery, The Harvard Crimson reports.
Many Korean media outlets have pointed out the paper’s author, J. Mark Ramseyer, received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government in 2018, speculating that there was undue influence on his paper. Ramseyer has denied such allegations.
Sankei Shimbun, a conservative, nationalist Japanese newspaper, featured the paper prior to its publication in the International Review of Law and Economics academic journal. . . .
Various legal scholars and historians from both South Korea and the United States have spoken up about the historical and logical inaccuracies in Ramseyer’s paper. . . .
2. “John_Mark_Ramseyer”; Wikipedia.com
John Mark Ramseyer (born c. 1954) is Mitsubishi Professor of Japanese Legal Studies at Harvard Law School . . . .
. . . . Also in 2021, Ramseyer emerged at the center of controversy over a forthcoming chapter in The Cambridge Handbook of Privatization, from Cambridge University Press. Writing on the Kantō Massacre in which thousands of resident Koreans in Japan were murdered, Ramseyer depicted the Koreans as “gangs” that “torched buildings, planted bombs, [and] poisoned water supplies. . . .
The real issue is conflict of interest. During the Clinton Administration, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Foley was adamant in rejecting compensation for POW’s and other slave laborers, insisting that ‘The peace treaty put aside all claims against Japan.’ His Deputy Chief of Mission, Christopher J. LaFleur, echoed this dogma at every opportunity.
It was a matter of some interest to victims that Foley’s wife was a well-paid consultant to Sumitomo, one of Japan’s biggest zaibatsu conglomerates, heavily involved in wartime slave labor and a target of the lawsuits. The moment Foley ended his tenure as ambassador and returned to America, he signed on as a paid advisor and lobbyist to another huge conglomerate-Mitsubishi-one of the biggest wartime users of slave labor.
Of greater significance, perhaps, is that Lafleur is married to the daughter of former prime minister and finance minister Miyazawa, one of the three Japanese who secretly negotiated the 1951 treaty with John Foster Dulles. (Miyazawa also is considered by professor Lausier and others to be the financial overseer of the M‑Fund.) Conflict of interest does not seem to be an obstacle in diplomatic appointments to Tokyo.)
. . . . After retiring as ambassador and returning to Washington, Foley openly became a paid lobbyist for Mitsubishi Corporation as a member of its advisory panel on strategy. Mitsubishi was among the biggest employers of American slave labor during the war. . . .
. . . . Mitsubishi’s market position at the war’s end in 1945 was described by a Western economist as being equivalent to the merger of U.S. Steel, General Motors, Standard Oil, Alcoa, Douglas Aircraft, Dupont, Westinghouse, AT & T National City Bank, Woolworth Stores and Hilton Hotels. . . .
A first hand account yet labelled an exception. https://www.amy-stanley.com/blog‑1/on-contract