U.S. Senators seek Obama’s help to resolve issue of ‘comfort women’
With Japan’s announcement last week that it has begun reviewing the accounts of former “comfort women,” a euphemistic term for those forced into sexual labor by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War, former victims and their supporters have expressed outrage over the development. Three senators from the United States are urging President Barack Obama to keep its interest and exert more effort in addressing the matter.
The letter calling for Obama’s actions was signed and sent by Senators Martin Heinrich, Tim Johnson and Mark Begich. The trio called upon the US president’s passionate statement regarding the atrocities done to the women. In his recent trip to Asia, Obama called what was done to the comfort women as a “terrible and egregious violation of human rights.” The trio of senators echoed his statement, noting “We affirm your statement that the ‘women were violated in ways that even in the midst of war was shocking.” They further went on to describe the women’s plight as deserving “to be heard and respected.” The letter closed by expressing their request that he continue to help resolve this particular issue.
The senators believe that finding a resolution to the issue of comfort women will be vital in further improving trilateral ties of the United States with Japan and South Korea. While both Asian countries are known U.S. allies, the two remain at odds with each other because of their wartime history that has prevented them from fostering cordial ties in recent years. An official from the South Korean embassy in the United States lauded the move and called it “meaningful in that it represents the first formal activity in the Senate regarding the comfort women issue.” Earlier this year, the congress also passed a bill that calls for the secretary of state to exert more efforts in addressing the issue.
