Response to:

On Friday 7th August a report, submitted to a subcommission ion Human Rights by it's "rapporteur" Gay McDougall was made public.

The report Working paper on the situation of systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during wartime." recommends the the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Japanese government appoint a panel of national and international leaders to establish a new administrative fund to pay compensation to those who provided sexual services to the Japanese military in WW2 and "prior to World War II"*,

The panel would determine an adequate level of compensation, establish systems for the fund, in publicity and the identification of victims, together with a forum to hear and administer the claims.

Such steps as would be required for this to take place, eg interviews and information gathering activities are outlined in the article.

The compensation provided by the Asia peace National Fund for Women ( aka Asian Women's fund ) a private Japanese organization "does not in any sense provide legal compensation."

Further "the report calls for the prosecution of those involved in setting up and operating "comfort stations."

This report is not binding on the commission or the UN.

The Foreign Ministry's reaction, carried in a separate article on the same page was cool. It still maintains that bilateral peace agreements have settled the issue of direct compensation, and it's support for the fund is an appropriate form of compensation therefore.

Comment: Given the verdict of a Shiminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture verdict this could be some kind of contempt, but it is unlikely that any court below the highest levels could make that stick. Precedent anyone?

The verdict of a related case by the Shiminoseki court.

Comment: with the adoption and propping up of a minister who has acted as a spokesman for textbook reform arguing that there is no evidence that the military directly established or run such places the government of Japan seems to be bluffing out this one, confident it can turn both the UN and internal legal challenges aside and retain its freedom of action, and avoid official acknowledgement of blame and involvement in compensation.

*Prior to WW2: by a western view: ie probably in this case prior to Pearl Harbor, eg after 1937, covering Japanese military occupation and fighting in large tracts of China (many comfort Women came from Korea, already occupied, but it was the invasion of China that prompted the initiation of this system.