Robbers Rising Sun Track

“Comfort women” is the euphemistic term for women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military before and during World War II, roughly from the early 1930s through 1945.

Scale and origins: Estimates vary widely, from tens of thousands to as many as 200,000 victims, though no precise figure exists. The Japanese military set up “comfort stations” near the front lines, partly to control the spread of venereal disease and partly in response to mass rapes committed by soldiers in occupied territories.

Who they were: Most were Korean, but women also came from China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Netherlands (colonial Dutch East Indies), and other occupied areas, as well as Japan itself. Many were recruited through deception, such as false promises of factory or nursing jobs, while others were coerced or abducted. Many were teenagers.

Conditions: Women were confined in stations and forced to endure repeated rape, often dozens of times a day, along with violence, disease, and forced abortions. Many did not survive the war, and some were abandoned at war’s end.

Aftermath: The issue stayed largely silent for decades until Kim Hak-sun, a Korean survivor, spoke publicly in 1991. Japan issued statements of apology, notably the 1993 Kono Statement, and established the Asian Women’s Fund in 1995 (privately funded compensation). Many survivors and advocacy groups argue these measures were inadequate, and the topic remains a point of tension in Japan-Korea relations. A 2015 bilateral agreement attempted to resolve the issue but was criticized by many survivors and later contested within South Korea.

Legacy: Survivors and activists have held weekly protests in Seoul since 1992, and statues memorializing the victims have been erected in several countries, often drawing diplomatic disputes.