Japan Aff Michigan



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Rape = AIDS, etc.


Women are at serious risk of AIDS, STDs, abortions, pregnancy, and long term social or mental problems resulting from the rape committed by members of the US military

Kirk, 08-Ph.D. in political sociology from the London School of Economics, founding member of the East Asia-US-Puerto Rico Women's Network Against Militarism, chaired the Women's Studies Program at Antioch College (1992-1995), Jane Watson Irwin Visiting Chair in Women's Studies at Hamilton College (1999-2001), Rockefeller Fellowship in Women's Studies (University of Hawaii, 2002)

(Gwyn, Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, "Gender and U.S. Bases in Asia-Pacific”, March 14, 2008, http://www.fpif.org/articles/gender_and_us_bases_in_asia-pacific) Massive



Servicemen are still protected from prosecution for many infringements of local laws and customs. The sexual activity of foreign-based troops, including (but not exclusively) through prostitution, has had serious effects on women’s health, boosting rates of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, drug and alcohol dependency, and mental illness. U.S. Navy ships visit the Philippines for R & R and make stops at Pattaya (Thailand) where the sex-tourism industry flourished during the Vietnam War.

Rape = Stigmatizing



In Okinawa, rape is particularly stigmatizing because the victim is often blamed as being responsible

Motoyama, 08-Executive Director of the Asia-Japan Women’s Resource Center in Japan

(Hisako, Off Our Backs, Volume 38, Issue 1, “Not a ‘yankees-go-home’ Solution to the Sexual Violence of the U.S. Military”, 2008, accessed via questia.com, Questia Media America, Inc.) Massive



The recent sexual assaults were themselves shocking events, but the consequences were even more frightening and alarming. Right after the gang-rape case in Hiroshima was reported, the governor of Hiroshima suggested in his comment on the case that the victim was partly responsible for inviting the crime on herself, because she went to the club where she met one of the soldiers in the middle of night. His statement represented the sentiments against the victim widely held in the community. Although the police were initially willing to demand custody of the suspects, the demand was eventually dropped.
Social factors not only make the victim feel guilty about pressing charges, but place blame on her for causing the rape

IPS, 09 (Stella Gonzales, “Women’s Groups Back Recanting Rape Victim”, 3-19-09, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46188) Massive

Salvador said Gabriela understood Nicole’s action, saying it was a "classic" example of how victims of sexual abuse would blame themselves for the rape. "Her dignity had been destroyed [by the rape]. We understand her action," Salvador said. "We have worked with similar cases before." Gabriela has for the past 25 years been working with women victims of violence. "Nicole is not the first and will not be the last rape victim to recant," said Gabriela's secretary-general, Emmi de Jesus. Nicole (not her real name) terminated the services of her lawyer and gave a sworn statement on Mar. 2 where she raised doubts whether Smith had actually raped her and if she might have actually welcomed his sexual advances. "My conscience continues to bother me...[and] I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with [him]...that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away," her statement said. Salvador said Gabriela was not really surprised with Nicole’s move. "It is no secret that all throughout the rape case her family had been receiving settlement offers from several parties. Her mother was very vocal about those attempts to settle," she said.


Women are seen as the enemy, which creates a mindset that allows for bitter and brutal sexual crimes to be committed

Tanaka, 02-research professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute

(Yuki, Japan’s Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During World War II and the US Occupation, pages 110-112) Massive


It appears that US soldiers began viewing local women as “the women belonging to the enemy” as soon as the battle against the Japanese forces took place on the soil of Japan's national territory. It is almost certain that such a view, intensified by the bitter combat, contributed to the sharp increase in sexual crimes committed by US troops on Okinawa. Such crimes were rare during the previous battles in various Japanese-occupied territories in the Pacific region. The above-mentioned horrific combat conditions in Okinawa must also have contributed to the escalating brutality of the US troops against “enemy civilians.” Based on the research in oral history that he conducted over many years, Ōshiro Masayasu, an Okinawan historian and former director of the Okinawa Prefectural Historical Archives, writes: Soon after the US marines landed, all the women of a village on Motobu Peninsular fell into the hands of these American soldiers. At the time, there were only women, children and old people in the village, as all the young men had been mobilized for the war. Soon after landing, the marines “mopped up” the entire village, but found no signs of the Japanese forces. Taking advantage of this situation, they started “hunting for women” in broad daylight and those who were hiding in the village or nearby air raid shelters were dragged out one after another. It was no different from the “brutal acts of conquerors, ” committed by the Japanese forces in China earlier. There was a communal taboo on this incident and no mention of it was made even after the men returned to the village after the war ended. Consequently it was a long time before it became public knowledge. At the time, most of the women in the village had stopped menstruating [due to malnourishment], so only a few babies of mixed-race were born as a result of this war-time rape. This was undoubtedly the only consolation in this tragedy. During the battle, violence against women occurred everywhere in Okinawa, although the true details will probably never be revealed. 4
Women are scarred for several years after being raped, beaten, or choked

Kirk*, Matsuoka**, and Okazawa-Rey***, 97--*Ph.D. in political sociology from the London School of Economics, founding member of the East Asia-US-Puerto Rico Women's Network Against Militarism, chaired the Women's Studies Program at Antioch College (1992-1995), Jane Watson Irwin Visiting Chair in Women's Studies at Hamilton College (1999-2001), Rockefeller Fellowship in Women's Studies (University of Hawaii, 2002), **Assistant Professor in the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, ***Ed.D. from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Director of Women’s Leadership Institute and Visitng Professor in Women’s Studies at Mills College (2002-2005), founding member of the International Network of Women Against Militarism)

(Gwyn, Martha, and Margo, Off Our Backs, Inc., Volume 27, Issue 9, “Women and Children, Militarism, and Human Rights: International Women’s Working Conference”, October 97, accessed via questia.com, Questia Media America, Inc.) Massive

Suzuyo Takazato noted the very similar situation in Okinawa, Korea, and the Philippines, especially during the Vietnam War. U.S. military personnel returning from battle were angry, fearful, and frustrated, and took it out on Okinawan women. There are many stories of women being beaten, choked, and killed. Many survived, now in their 50s and 60s, but their scars remain. At this meeting Okinawan women emphasized violent attacks of women and girls by U.S. military personnel, especially the marines who are in Okinawa in large numbers. Okinawan women went to the Beijing Conference in 1995 to make connections with other women in Asia. They offered eleven workshops, five of them about militarism and peace. When they returned from Beijing they saw a very brief newspaper report about the rape of a 12-year old girl by three U.S. military personnel that had happened while they were away. Immediately they organized around this issue and revitalized opposition to the U.S. military presence in Okinawa.
Stigmatization and prejudice is extremely prevalent for women who were raped, impregnated, and abandoned by U.S. military members

FPIF, 99 (Foreign Policy in Focus, “Women and the U.S. Military in East Asia”, 3-1-99, http://www.fpif.org/reports/women_and_the_us_military_in_east_asia) Massive

In Korea, Japan, and the Phillipines, Amerasian children born to women impregnated by U.S. troops are a particularly stigmatized group. They are often abandoned by their military fathers and raised by single Asian mothers. They live with severe prejudice and suffer discrimination in education and employment due to their physical appearance and their mothers’ low status. Those with African-American fathers face even worse treatment than those having white fathers.
Victims are stigmatized by police in rape cases, who ask the victim to re-enact the rape to be documented

Womensenews.org, 09 (Catherine Makino, “Rape Victim Case of Police Abuse in Japan”, 1-2-09, http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/090102/rape-victim-presses-case-police-abuse-japan) Massive

The worst offense, she says, occurred two months later, when the Kanagawa police asked her to return to the station to help investigators take re-enactment photographs. The photographer asked her to assume the various positions that the rape entailed. Incapable of doing so, Jane gave instructions to male and female officers so the photos could be taken. "I was forced to become the director of my own rape," Jane says. "Re-enactment photographs must be banned. No human being should have to go through that. The police treated me without compassion or dignity." Michael O'Connell, commissioner for Victim's Rights Australia, a government advocacy group, calls it one of the worst cases of police re-victimization that he has ever encountered. "On hearing about Jane's plight, I was appalled that a victim of sexual assault would be treated with so little respect and dignity," he said in an e-mail to Women's eNews. "Internationally, the most progressive police know that their responsibilities to victims include protecting the victim, collecting and preserving evidence, and supporting the victim." A report in late October by the United Nations Human Rights Committee found Japanese police practices in rape cases insufficient under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also found a shortage of doctors and nurses in Japan trained to handle sexual violence and raised concern about weak-to-nonexistent punishment of sexual violence.


Even the word rape carries stigma and taboo in Japan, making it extremely difficult for victims to press charges against their rapist

Off Our Backs, Inc., 87 (Off Our Backs, Volume 17, Issue 4, “Japan: Rape Hidden”, 4-30-87, accessed via questia.com, Questia Media America, Inc.) Massive
TOKYO -- Rape in Japan, as in most countries throughout the world, is still an unmentionable subject. For a variety of reasons, women do not report most rapes to police. The very word "rape" is not used in the Japanese press. The press uses the word "osowareru", which means attack, rather than "gokan" or rape. However, many newspapers and magazines accept advertisements with pictures of nude women. According to Japanese linguist Ikumi Matsuda, "everything connected with rape is taboo in Japan and to sayrape in the newspaper would not be considered polite." Women find it difficult to talk about rape and are often intimidated by family and friends into remaining silent after being raped. For example: A young woman who was raped by her stepfather told her mother but did not tell police because she did not want to speak out against him. Her mother then blamed her.


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