Discuss how the 1937 Nanjing Massacre (or, the Rape of Nanjing) led to the establishment of the system of “Comfort Stations.” What were the problems that the Japanese government and military leaders found in Japanese soldiers’ randomly raping local Chinese women or using the services provided by Chinese prostitutes? How did the use of the so-called “comfort women” seem to resolve the problems of rape of local Chinese women by Japanese soldiers? Using the videos, In the Name of the Emperor and “herstory,” Kim Yeonghi and my article, and the exhibition posters as your sources describe the system of “Comfort Stations” in detail. Who or what kinds of women did the Japanese military recruit to use as “comfort women”? Where did the Japanese army recruit or capture them? Why did these women agree to go to “work” in China or other areas close to combat zones escorted by the recruiters? How were these sex slaves treated on a daily basis and after the end of the Asia-Pacific War? How and why did the “comfort women” system failed to resolve the problems of sexual violence (i.e., rape of local women in China and other combat zones)?
