A Counter Response and Proposal to the “Open Letter” written by 187 Historians
Abstract
A Counter Response and Proposal to the "Open Letter” writtenby 187 Historians by Prof. Fujioka Nobukatsu
On May 5, the “Open Letter in Support of Historians in Japan” was released and rapidly circulated around the world. This Letter was signed by 187 historians and researchers mainly in the field of Japan studies from the United States and western countries. The Open Letter accused the Japan’s military comfort women system before and during World War II.
The “Open Letter”, even though written by historians, is based fundamentally on a misconception of historical reality.
The author precisely points out false or baseless descriptions on the comfort system in the open letter in this essay.
Finally he proposes that a series of serious academic conferences be held between Japanese and American scholars in order to have a dialogue on issues like the nature of the Japanese Army's comfort women system, international comparisons on how nations managed their soldiers’ sexual activity on the battlefield, and the serious human rights problems plaguing the world today.