First of all it is very closed-minded and insensitive to dismiss sex in the context of Japanese culture as twisted and perverse. I mean whose moral standards did your professor use to conclude that the Japanese view of sex is immoral? His? Ours? How can he qualify that it is perverse? From which point of view is it perverse? I find it sad that this comes from a no less than UP professor. Who’s to say that our cultural experience of sex is not perverse from other people’s point of view? We must remember that cultural and racial intolerance was one of the driving forces that fueled the Axis’ imperialistic and totalitarian worldview. If we start to condemn the Japanese just because they are different then we put to waste everything that our grandfathers and grandmothers suffered for.

Secondly, the injustice and abuse that was experienced by our grandmothers (I refuse to call the comfort women which is a derogatory term and gives credence and affirms the stigma that is inherent in the term ‘comfort women’) while tragic, doesn’t justify condemning a race as sex-crazed perverts. WW2 is clearly marked by great injustice to human life, nobody denies that and everybody is sorry for what had happened. Japan has paid (and is paying) for the crimes it has committed. I mean 2 nuclear bombs we’re dropped on them which killed thousand and the radiation from those explosions will be carried over generations. Their current constitution is one which was drafted for them by the Allied occupation shortly after their defeat. And because it is a very strict document, it has never been amended ever since. That in itself is a great slap against a sovereign state such as Japan. They do not have an offensive armed forces of any kind. Their army was subsequently dissolved after their surrender. These are few of the consequences that Japan is going through. They started from nothing after the war and I find it nothing short of admirable that they we’re able to rebuild their country, which says a lot about how we spent our post war efforts.

However, I do concede that the Japanese government has to admit to the crimes they have committed to our women during the war, and that we do reserve the right to demand such an apology. They do not have any reason to turn a blind eye to what their troops did to our fellow Filipinos. Women and men.

War is dirty business. If I could speak from a detached political standpoint, the whole purpose of waging war is to subdue and grab power from a rival state. This statement in itself already presupposes the violent nature of war. Just as guns have no sole purpose but to kill - war has no pretensions of being fair or just or forgiving. Which is why I find it sad and disheartening that while we want to remember the sacrifices and atrocities that we’re made during the war, we do so in such a blind sweeping manner that we totally miss the whole point. We should condemn the atrocities but not the race or the people. We should remember the sacrifices made in the name of freedom and not magnify the stigma. Learn from their experiences and hail their heroism. Otherwise, we’d better stop condmening the war all together because we’d just be as guilty as the perpetrators.

At the end of the day, these extraodinary women who despite the unfathomable hardships and suffering they endured should not be forgotten. But to remember them as how the Japanese soldiers knew them - to remember them as mere comfort women opens up old wounds that should be healed. Instead we should remember them for the ideals they stood and fought for - freedom, tolerance, equality - ideals that the harshness war never took from them. Remember them as heroes.

“…remember them as heroes.”

I cried at that part. Good post, Marco.

Now, i’ve been told on two occasions that Koreans working for the Japanese Army were actually responsible for most of the atrocities committed here during WWII. If that is true, do we then ask an apology from them?

On a sidenote - Yes, Japanese sex is perverted. I have DVD’s to prove it.

no one is condemning the Japanese here, Marco.

Just watch anime. If you eventually find it boring, watch hentai. That should give you an idea.

Isn’t this you justifying your professor’s sweeping allegation

yes. but i still see no condemnation of the sort you were talking about up there.

How about: seen from our point of view, Japanese sex attitudes would seem weird?

Ei not that I’m taking sides here…but I have to agree with what Marco’s pointing out…kasi during the war the Japanese soldiers were overwhelmed during the Pacific war (kasi they thought they’d win and can do anything) that they did loot for virgins to rape w/o the authorities knowing whats happening…sex has been a part of japansese culture. Its natural for them, hence explaining why soldiers did that. But the soldiers’ real mission was to free the Pinoys (and all Asians) from Western rule and discrimination.

We see sex in Japanese media (anime, j-pop movies, etc) today alongside war-related storylines…but if u do watch/look/read between the lines, they remind d younger generation a moral lesson (by example) not to wage war or rape other people…

Yes, Japan does admit their deeds in the war and they have apologized, but since this nation doesn’t want to be ashamed any further, they’re are trying to close that chapter and move on.

And as for Marco’s point about these ladies, yes, they’re heroes and in addition they stood for what the Japanese wanted for them all along, freedom from foreigners…

Im honestly uncertain if this contributes to this discussion but I just wanna say my point here…if I need to be corrected let me know…

i actually agree with marco, too. so don’t worry saturn. i just dislike the part where he insinuates that i was condemning the Japanese.

as for the Japanese freeing us all from Western rule and discrimination—do you know what drove Japan to go to war then? their newly industrializing economy needed cheap raw materials, and lookee who has it, us and other more resource-rich countries such as China. if she could unite East Asia under a hegemony, then her economy is saved.

maybe there was some ideology to it, but i believe that is was all about the scarcity of resources.

L&M, Make Love Not War

I actually don’t like the idea of calling these grandmothers as “Comfort women” because it seems like this term is somewhat stopping them from moving on from that tragic moment many years ago.

I think we also have “comfort gays” way back. I was able to watch Marcova (wherein the real guy died last year) and that movie really made me cry. I am thankful because i was not born during their time. Wala na ata talaga silang pinipili to satisfy their sexual needs.

Btw, Ana Capri is also one of my favorite pinay actresses ever. Galing nya!

It is so easy to condemn the Japanese men for atrocities. That is my tendency too though I am a self-proclaimed liberal. Marco’s take is refreshing. It tries to be compassionate to the obvious villains. I like that .. makes me pause.

For me, Japan as paying or has paid can be on a see-saw lever. I just can’t show some statistics on how many percent of them hold the same outlook and perception on continued pride (of course everyone undeniably has this) and boast on men’s superiority over women. Right now, all i can see is, women of their own are still treated as behind the men to serve tea and prepare foods in the kitchen. Although lots of their women are now out in the open for a job, they still don’t hold the same regard as the Filipina do in their homeland.

I don’t know if i should attribute such Japanese women’s societal consideration to being morally and respectfully subservient. They still walk behind men, even their husbands, along the street.

*typo: They still walk behind men, even with their husbands, along the street.

hey marco, that one by dimaks is for you.

At Liz…
Yup that’s true…but that’s as far as I can remember that’s only one part of the story…the other part (well I guess I’ve said it already) is the Japanese being discriminated by the West…I think that Japan’s primary strategy in the 1800s to become respected was that if she can’t beat the West, then join ‘em (which failed however at 1st), but I might get too sidetracked here discussing…^_^ On Dimaks note, I think that’s true…especially in the Japanese corporate workplace it’s still like that, man over woman…(hope I didn’t overcommented this post) gud am to all

saturn, i don’t think anyone can overcomment if the comments are intelligent.

the West is discriminating to anyone, even among themselves i think.

This is an interesting post. Here are my comments:

1. JAPAN`S APOLOGY IS NOT ENOUGH

Sexual slavery during the war was a horrible tragedy worth a thousand anathemas. Although Japan has apologized and has set-up a front organization to fund the victims (contrary to what Ms. Liz said), I believe it is necessary for Japan to show her sincerity in acknowledging the wrong things she did during the war.

The problem with Japan is that she remains unambigous. The government continously apologizes, yet at the same time insists that historical records don`t prove that sexual slavery existed.

Not only is this stand against logic (clearly there should be no records, for all Imperial documents were burned shortly after surrender), it also sends a message that Japan is just paying lip service to the victims, who, as one someone said, are (were) heroes in their own right.

2. SEX SLAVERY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW THE JAPANESE DO SEX

We should not blame it on the so-called “perverted view of sex of the Japanese”.

The occurence of sexual slavery was not the result of racial traits, but rather of the darker side of humanity. Remember that even the Allied Forces used comfort women shortly after the war.

3. JAPAN WAGED WAR NOT TO LIBERATE ASIANS

We should examine history properly here. Japan never waged the war to liberate Asians from Western dominance.

The fact that President Roosevelt actually wanted Japan to commit an act of agression against America so he could persuade Congress to declare war against Hitler does not change the fact that Japan`s war was a war of aggression. One that was a result of an irrational push towards fascist-militarism that drained the nation`s resources to such heights that it needed to grab it from smaller nations.

4. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN JAPAN IS NOT AS BAD AS MOST PEOPLE THINK

Compared with the Philippines and the United States, sexism in Japan is prevalent. But I think it`s a bit exaggerated.

I think Japan is just as guilty as India or Latin America when it comes to treating women. But compared with, say Arab countries, Japan gives premium on the rights of women.

No, Mr. Dimaks. Women don`t walk behind men here in Tokyo. That`s a thing of the past (and of the Imperial Palace).

Nor is it true that Japanese women are reduced to domestic works. In fact, according to private and government surveys, the reason why the birthrate in Japan is falling is because more women are having careers of their own. The second most powerful person in the Japanese military (the Minister of Defense) and National Security Adviser to the prime minister is a woman.

And lest I forget, I have pronographic DVDs that feature BDSM scenes where women play dominant over men. And these scenes do happen in real life.

Saturn said: “Yes, Japan does admit their deeds in the war and they have apologized, but since this nation doesn’t want to be ashamed any further, they’re are trying to close that chapter and move on. ”

Wrong. The Japanese government is not ashamed of these attrocities. Actually, it doesn`t even acknowledge it.

True, the socialist government did apologize in the early 1990s, but successive governments continue to insist that no historical documents would prove that sexual slavery existed during the war.

Heck, even up to now, the Japanese government continues to be the laughingstock of historians for stubbornly denying the Rape of Nanking and the forced suicides of Japanese civilians in Okinawa.

Worse, Japanese leaders continuosly honor the men behind these attrocities by visiting temples where these criminals were enshrined.

No you might say the Japanese government does not represent Japan. Well, the thing is the Japanese people doesn`t care about the past.

Why? Well, number one, they don`t know what to believe. They grew up reading denials of attrocities in their textbooks, and now they are bombarded by media reports showing the truth. Number two, Japanese people are just too busy with their work to think about history.

2. SEX SLAVERY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW THE JAPANESE DO SEX

it has everything to do with it. some comfort women were tied to a wall with legs spread while Japanese fucked their brains out.

J,
maybe i was dreaming when i saw them in my neighborhood here in tsukuba. but maybe that dream does not hold true there in tokyo.

so we have here two people living in Japan. cool. ^_^

the Japanese aren`t the only race who loves BDSM. you have the germans as well.

besides, i don`t think BDSM is perverted. sex slavery is.

the thing is, even the United States was guilty of sex slavery. McArthur tolerated the establishment of a number of comfort stations. he worked to put a stop on it after advisers told him of its health hazards.

and Nazi Germany as well (worse kind of sex slavery, in fact)

my point: the japanese committed the attrocities not because they are Japanese (and they love to tie up women) but because they are humans.

all human beings are susceptible to corruption. especially when they hold power.

Mr. Dimaks, it`s possible that what you saw was an isolated case. As I said, women walking behind men is a thing of the past. In rural (or semi-rural, whatever) areas like Tsukuba, some people might still practice sexism. But I don`t think it is as prevalent as what you tried to impress upon the readers even in the farthest rural places in Japan.

My father is Japanese. I have a lot of Japanese relatives and friends and not one of them- not even my aunt and uncle who lives in a place a lot more rural (and tradittional) than Tsukuba- actually practices the same kind of sexism that you said is widespread among the Japanese.

In the Philippines, especially in rural areas, most families remain extremely patriarchal and the voice of women are still left unheard. But we have a woman president and a number of empowered women in the workplace.

The same is true in Japan. I can even say that the movement against sexism is more advance here than in the Philippines. Why? Because even gays and lesbians are empowered here (are on the way to being empowered).

what does ‘empowerment’ mean, J?

“empowered” means they now have the “power” they previously did not have. i.e. the power to express themselves and fight off dicrimination.

there is one political party in japan that is devoted to advancing the cause of women. and compared with the philippines` gabriela (which in my opinion advances leftist ideals more than women`s rights), this political party is considerably powerful.

J,
Perhaps i don’t have the kind of family lineage like yours, and the level of knowledge on this particular knowledge as well. And perhaps.. i thought my statements were a bit of a metaphor. But anyways.. in that case you have the greater right to speak about these Japanese/Japan things.

You have a nice blog, Mr. Dimaks. To say that it`s worth reading is an understatement.

“Our professor explained how sex is an umistakable feaure of Japanese culture. Sure sex is ingrained in all cultures, but none as twisted and perverse as the Japanese conception. Just watch anime. If you eventually find it boring, watch hentai. That should give you an idea. Japanese sexual aggression was present whenever they loot and kill before and during World War II: they forcibly created comfort women not only in the Philippines, but also in China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia. Google comfort women and try to find another country other than Japan which made use of them.”

Like sex is not an “unmistakable feature” of Philippine culture. You (or your professor) talk about something you don’t know anything of. I’m sure everything you ever learned about Japan comes from reading books and watching TV. I guess you also think that there are giant rubbery monsters regularly devastating Tokyo. You’re views are of someone who haven’t even met a Japanese.

ei kuya Marco,

i’ve been making a term paper ’bout our lolas who just sufferd such atrocities during the war,.. hmm i got lots of ideas for what we should do in real life in your article,… tnx!,..
and also i want to share your thoughts to evebody who will read my paper,.. hmm plz do allow me to copy and rephase some ideas,..
tnx tnx!