Chronicle of JWRC Activities

1994

March 31	Submitted English version of "The First Report: Historical and Legal Study on the Issue of 'Military Comfort Women'" to appropriate personnel within the UN Human Rights Committee
May 16	Submitted "The Second Report: Proposal on Reparations to Victims of 'Military Comfort Women'" to appropriate personnel within the UN Human Rights Committee and to the Government of Japan
November 8	Presented JWRC opinions to the Subcommittee for Issues such as Military "Comfort Women", part of the Liberal Democratic Party Project Team for the 50th Anniversary of the End of World War II
November 22	Made representation to the Japanese Government after publication of the ICJ report on the "Comfort Women", urging it to accept the recommendations of the report

1995

March 11	Held symposium entitled Discussion of ICJ Mission Report: "'Comfort Women' -- An Unfinished Ordeal" (Tokyo)
May 13 -14	Set up the "My Apology" hotline for the purpose of hearing from ex-soldiers who committed crimes during the war and who are willing to offer apologies (Tokyo Office)
May 28	Reported on the outcome of the research on the "Comfort Women" to Ms. Linda Chavez, Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Committee
July 2 - 7	Made a presentation entitled "Wartime Slavery System -- Japanese Military 'Comfort Women' and Forced Labor" to the ICJ International Seminar (Tokyo)
July 22	Cooperated with Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Human Rights Committee Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, as she conducted an investigation into the "comfort women" issue. Handed her the findings of our study on the "comfort women" system of sexual slavery and other historical materials related to the issue, and explained the political situation surrounding the issue in Japan.

1996

February 6	The Coomaraswamy Report, containing six specific recommendations to the Japanese Government, was made public. A petition called "One Million Signatures --Accept the UN Recommendations!" was organized by several citizens groups concerned with the "Comfort Women" issue, with a secretariat at JWRC.
March 10	Translated and published Japanese version of Ms. Coomaraswamy's mission report (E/CN.4/1996/53/Add.1)
April 7 - 10	Participated in UN Human Rights Committee meeting as an NGO
June 5	Delivered a statement entitled "Freeze the 'Asian Women's Fund'!" (A fund set up by the Japanese government and which JWRC opposes.)
June 19	Collected and handed in to the Cabinet Councilors' Office on External Affairs 61,852 signatures requesting that the Japanese Government accept the Coomaraswamy Recommendations
July 10	Protested and made representations to NHK (the Japanese national broadcasting company) against its decision to cancel a program on the "Comfort Women" issue
August 15	Discovered complete records of trials carried out by Britain of Japanese class B and C war criminals
December 8	Announced the JWRC home page, the "Home of Peace Materials"

1997

February 1	JWRC Secretariat and some members appeared on an all-night TV special dedicated to the discussion of Japanese historical revisionism and Japan's war responsibilities
February 9	Dialogue between Mr. Satoshi Uesugi, Secretary-General of JWRC, and Mr. Nobukatu Fujioka, a Tokyo University professor and flag-bearer of the Jiyu Shugi Shikan Kenkykukai (a group hoping to publish an alternative school text aimed at teaching a glorified version of WWII to the younger generation) on Sunday Project, a TV Program
April 29	Co-sponsored "To Whom Does History Belong?", a lecture and gathering at which testimony on war-time experiences was aired (Tokyo)
September 2	Mr. Shin'ichi Arai, Director of JWRC, made Vice-Chair of a newly formed group of lawyers and intellectuals set up to "Request a Legitimate Solution to Japan's War Responsibilities".
September 28	Held a symposium "Nationalism and the 'Comfort Women' Issue" with So Kyongsik, Tetsuya Takahashi, Chizuko Ueno, and Yoshiaki Yoshimi as panelists (Tokyo)
December 13 - 14	Co-sponsored "Tokyo International Symposium -- 60th Anniversary of the Rape of Nanking" (Tokyo)

1998

May 14	Contributed to the "House of Representatives' Forum on Investigative Group to Reveal the Truth about War Damages" by presenting a study on the subject (Tokyo)
June 1 - 12	Supplied materials to an exhibition on the "Comfort Women" held in the House of Representatives Office Building in Washington D.C. (USA)
August 14	Supplied books and other materials to the Museum of Japanese Military "Comfort Women" at the House of Sharing (Korea)
September 20	Published "Nationalism and the 'Comfort Women' Issue" (Aoki-Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd.)
September 27	Held symposium on "Questions Posed by Testimony of Aggression" (Tokyo), at which questions raised after listening to wartime testimony were discussed. Reports were presented by Toshio Arai, Fumiko Kawata, and Akira Maeda

1999

January 16	Held sectional meeting on the Comfort Women with Ms. Yoneko Ishida as a lecturer
February 7	Held sectional meeting on the Comfort Women with Ms. Yuki Fujime as a lecturer
February 25	Co-sponsored Gathering of the Citizens and Diet Members to Work Together Toward Legislation to Inquire the Truth During WWII. Some 20 members of the Diet, including Yukio Hatoyama, were among the participants (Tokyo)
April 10	Held a sectional meeting on the Comfort Women with Mr. Hirofumi Hayashi as a lecturer
May 13	Requested the Japanese Trade Union Confederation to accept the recommendations made by Committee of the Application of Standards in International Labour Organization (ILO) as well as to cooperate the movement to realize formal apology and reparation
July 10	Held a sectional meeting on the Comfort Women with Ms. Yuko Sugiyama as a lecturer
September 1 - 17	Visited Nanking and Shanghai for investigating on Nanking Massacre and sexual violence
September 26	Held the Sixth General Meeting and Symposium From the Debate on the War to Legislation of War with Kang Sang-jung, Takashi Kawamoto, Midori Wakana, Satoshi Uesugi

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