Compensation for Japan's World War II War-Rape Victims

Authors

Karen Parker
Jennifer F. Chew

Abstract

Approximately 200,000 women were tricked or abducted into slavery to provide sexual services for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. After nearly fifty years of silence, a growing number or these war-rape victims have come forward publicly to tell their stories. The authors describe this scheme that was established by the Japanese government and Imperial Army. The authors argue that the scheme violated fundamental principles of international law, thus attaching a right to compensation for the violations. The authors present current initiatives before the United Nations to address the issue of compensation. Examples of viable compensation schemes are the German compensation programs established after World War II. After refuting Japan's present arguments against compensation for the war-rape victims, the authors propose a comprehensive scheme by which the Japanese government can fulfill its obligations to provide compensation.

Recommended Citation

Karen Parker and Jennifer F. Chew, Compensation for Japan's World War II War-Rape Victims, 17 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 497 (1994).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol17/iss3/2