Author: Japanese Consulate General in Nanjing, China
Date: 1938
File: History of the Foreign Ministry Police attached to the Consulate General in Nanking
Locations: China
Keywords: Management and supervision
Annotation Source: Northeast Asian History Foundation
Click HERE to see the annotation in Korean
Image link:
http://wam-peace.org/ianfu-koubunsho/pdf/K-PDF/K_F_051.pdf
ANNOTATION
This is a report of a meeting of the officials from the Ministry of the Army, the Navy, and Foreign Affairs regarding permissions and control of various businesses run by Japanese residents in China. The attendees include [from the Army] Col. Chiba (Commanding Officer of the Supply Department), Lt. Col. Kurinisi (Staff Officer, the 3rd division), Lt. Col. Takahara (medical officer/Lt. Col., Division of medical officers, the 3rd division), Major Onishi (Secret Military Agency in Nanjing), Lt. Col. Oyama, Captain Horikawa and 1st Lt. Kitahara (Military Police); [from the Navy] Col. Nakahara (Navy attaché), Lt. Col. Ueno (Captain of the gunboat ‘Saga’); and [from the Consulate General Office] Hanawa (Consul General), Tanaka (Consul), Shimizu (Chief of Police), and Sasaki (Assistant Police Officer).
Among the matters decided at the meeting, Clause no. 6 refers to “the matter of military PX and the comfort stations that non-military may use.” It says, “The Consulate shall not intervene in matters relating to the military PX and comfort stations which exclusively belong to the Army or the Navy, because they are directly managed and supervised by the Army and the Navy. However, the Consulate shall be in charge of controlling the PX and the non-exclusive comfort stations that maybe used by civilians; and military police shall control the soldiers and Civilians Attached to the Military who use those facilities. When necessary, the Military Police may conduct an on-site inspection at any time and use other controlling methods.”
The report goes on to say, “In the future, the new exclusive comfort stations will be set up under the guidance of the Supply Department and they will be controlled by the Military Police. With respect to the comfort stations that already exist, the Supply Department will handle them in a way to incorporate some of them into the group of the exclusive comfort stations, with some considerations given to the convenience of civilian residents. These matters will be decided by agreements among the relevant agencies. Once the PX and exclusive comfort stations for the military (both for the Army and the Navy) are approved, for the convenience of the Consulate Office, the Military Police of the applicable unit should frequently report to the Consulate Office regarding the business conditions and the business operators' other notable change of status such as the original address in the family register, address, name, age, birth, and death.”
This document shows the division of roles and the existence of cooperative system between the Japanese military and the Consulate Office in terms of supervising and controlling the comfort stations for the Japanese military.
Note:
This document’s title varies depending on the collection in which it is included. The present title here is from the Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM, Tokyo) collection. The same document in the Collection of the Asian Women’s Fund is titled, “Excerpts from [the Foreign Ministry Police attached to the Consulate-General in Nanking].” In the Sourcebook Vol. 1 by Suzuki, Yamashita, and Tonomura, it is titled, “Legal matters about granting business permissions and controlling of the Japanese residents by the Army, the Navy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” In the Sourcebook by Yoshimi [Yoshiaki], it is titled, “Decisions from meetings by the officials from three agencies the Army, the Navy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding various business permissions and controlling the Japanese residents (April 16, 1938)”
Sources:
WAM Collection (Foreign Affairs_109)
Sourcebook by the Asian Women’s Fund, Vol. 1, p. 479-482
Sourcebook by Suzuki, Yamashita, Tonomura, Vol. 1, p. 111-112
Sourcebook by Yoshimi, p. 177-180
#establishment #management #supervision #civilian #Nanjing #Nanking #Consulate #Military_Police #PX #canteen
QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the annotation:
- attaché: a military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy.
- military PX: a place on a military base where meals or snacks are served to the people who work there.
After reading the annotation, please answer the following questions:
1. What kind of documents is this?
2. Who wrote it?
3. What year was it created?
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? What does the title tell you?
7. Who's the audience of the document?
8. Reading the first paragraph of the annotation: What kind of people were at the meeting?
9. What was the purpose of the meeting between the military officials and the Foreign Affairs?
10. What decisions were made at the meeting?
11. What was decided about military PX and comfort stations?
12. How were they to be managed by the military and the Consulate General Office?
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?
15. 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.