Author: Consular Police of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, China
Date: December 21, 1937
File: Documents for Approval by the Minister of HomeAffairs (1937, 1st)
Locations: Shanghai (China)
Keywords: Mobilization
Annotation by Hye-in Han, Ph.D. Researcher, Asia Peace and History Institute
Image link: http://wam-peace.org/ianfu-koubunsho/pdf/K-PDF/K_P_002-5-3.pdf
ANNOTATION
This is a document prepared by the consular police of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, China, on December 21, 1937.
It was an attachment to the document, “Concerning the Case Involving an Alleged Abduction of Women in Taking Advantage of the Current Situation” in Wakayama Prefecture, dated February 7, 1938 [JS-11]. It is an important document that reveals the manner and methods by which the Japanese military and the governmental administration controlled every aspect of the establishment of the comfort stations, including the recruitment, overseas transportation, employment, and the management of the “comfort women” and the comfort stations in China.
Following the “Revision of the regulations on the PX in the field,” dated September 21, 1937 [see JS-1] that allowed the installation of comfort stations in connection with the PX in the field, various Japanese governmental authorities came together to coordinate the role division and recruitment plans with respect to the establishment and management of comfort stations.
According to this document, the Consulate General in Shanghai would be in charge of the overall aspects of recruitment, employment, and transportation of the “comfort women.” It would handle the business permissions for the comfort stations and the “comfort women,” background checks with other government agencies to facilitate their contract and voyage, the approval of “comfort women’s” stay in Shanghai, and transfer of “comfort women” to the Military Police. The Military Police would be in charge of managing the operators and the “comfort women” in Shanghai, including the transportation of “comfort women” to the comfort station sites. The Office of the Army Attaché would be in charge of preparing the business premises, as well as the general health examinations and STD tests.
It also states that the initial plan was to recruit 3,000 women, and in fact, the first recruitment had been conducted in Japan and Korea. The fact that this document was attached to “Concerning the Case Involving an Alleged Abduction of Women in Taking Advantage of the Current Situation” in Wakayama Prefecture, dated February 7, 1938 [see JS-11], shows that the plan was executed as described in this document, and forced recruitment (abduction) did occur in the course of recruitment.
Attachments:
Application Form for temporary prostitution business permit with two photos attached (Form no. 1)
Consent Form (Form no. 2)
Certificate of Seal Impression
Certified copy of family register
Questionnaire for the prostitute applicant (Form no. 3)
Sources:
WAM Collection (Police_007)
Collection of the Asian Women’s Fund, Vol. 1, p. 36-44
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, A05032040800
Sourcebook by Suzuki, Yamashita, and Tonomura, Vol. 1, p. 136-138
#mobilization #recruitment #Shanghai #Consulate_General #Military_Police
QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the annotation:
- attache: a military attache is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy.
- STD: sexually transmitted diseases
After reading the annotation, please answer the following questions:
1. What kind of document is this?
2. Who wrote it?
3. What year was it prepared?
4. What was the historical context in East Asia during the time?
5. Where was it created?
6. What's the title of the document?
7. Who's the audience of this document?
8. According to the document, who oversaw all aspects of "comfort women"?
9. According to the document, who managed the operators of comfort stations and "comfort women"?
10. What was the role of the Office of the Army Attache in the establishment and management of comfort stations?
11. How many women were planned to be recruited according to the document, and where was the initial recruitment conducted?
12. What is the significance of this document?
13. The Japanese government has been claiming that it bears no legal or official responsibility for the "comfort women" victims. Based on this document, do you think the claim is defendable? Why or why not?
14. What other questions do you have for this document? How/Where can you find the answers?
*Questions for Students section was designed by Jing Williams, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at University of South Dakota.