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Group for uncovering the facts of Japanese military's  sexual violence in Shanxi (China) and acting in solidarity with the Grandmas

 

                                       Abbreviation：Shanxi Group for uncovering the facts

 

（１）We established our association in July 1998 to support the 10 Chinese plaintiffs of the lawsuit against the Japanese government to obtain redress for the damages they suffered by the sexual violence perpetrated by Japanese troops during World War II in Yu District of Shanxi Province in China. These plaintiffs included 9 Chinese victims and 1 descendant of a victim of wartime sexual violence, namely Wan Aihua( the 1^st victim who came out in China), Wang Gaihe, Zhao Cunni, Zhao Runmei, Zhang Xiantu, Yin Yulin, Gao Yin’e, Yang Xihe and Yang Xiulian (the descendant). Originally we named our association as “The Association for Clarifying the Reality of Sexual Violence by Japanese Military in China and for Supporting the Lawsuit for Redress”, and in 2006, after the Japanese Supreme Court issued the judgment of the lawsuit, we changed its name to the current one.          

 

（２）Our association started interviewing the victims and the witnesses in 1996 and, since then, we have been supporting the victims in their fight to obtain redress. They bravely came out and spoke out about severe damages inflicted by the Japanese soldiers’ acts of sexual violence, enduring enormous mental and physical stresses that accompanied with their giving testimonies. These Daniang (a word used in Chinese when calling familiar old women) have traveled to Japan in separate visits totaling 10 times and shared their stories with Japanese audience in meetings held in many Japanese cities, including Tokyo, Okayama, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima and Nagoya. This helped inspire and empower the redress movement in Japan. The judgment of the lawsuit, in which the plaintiffs were defeated, was in effect in November 2005. It nonetheless acknowledged the truthfulness of the plaintiffs’ testimonies, and designated the violence that Japanese soldiers used against the women as “abnormal and dirty brutalities.” Also validating the PTSD the plaintiffs had been suffering from as being caused by the damages that were incurred as a result of the sexual violence perpetrated by Japanese soldiers during war, it states that“the court strongly hopes that this issue will be resolved by legislative or administrative measures.”  

 

（３）We make trips to Shanxi Province, China, every spring and summer to visit the Daniang. We have provided financial support to cover their medical bills through the Daniang Medical Charity Fund and have engaged in on-going research. Our group has visited Yu District more than 30 times. Since 2000 Mr. Hajime Kondo, who was a Japanese soldier fighting in China, has joined us in our visits of the Daniang. We also published the brochure, entitled,“ Now It’s Time to Come Out!”(2000), two books, Sexual Violence in Yu District ― Their War Is Not Over ―　(2004) and Two Battlefields of One Japanese Soldier (2005), and two DVDs, The Daniang’Memories　and Their War Is Not Over. In August 2008, we published a Chinese translation of Sexual Violence in Yu District ― Their War Is Not Over ― from China Social Science Books Press.

（４）In China, there wa no group or association which supports victims of wartime sexual violence. Given this, we have made some efforts to publicize this issue in China. First,we recognize that, in order to recover the violated human right of the victims whose dignity has been appallingly undermined, it is necessary that the community to which they belong to accepts and sympathizes with the Daniang with all their sufferings in the past and the present and support them with good understanding. It is also important that the younger generations learn the historical truth regarding the wartime sexual violence involving the Daniang. To help make progress in these areas, in March 2007, after a long period of preparation we gave a lecture on this issue at Shanxi University and　had the opportunity for exchanging opinions with the students of the university.

（５）The Exhibition on Wartime Rape and “Comfort Stations” in China has been held at Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace (WAM) since June 2008, featuring not only the Daniang we support but also Chinese victims of wartime sexual violence that other groups support. We have been one of the groups that constituted the Project Team for this Exhibition, and thus, have provided a lot of panels and information. At the opening ceremony of the Exhibition, Ms. Wang Aihua and Ms. Yang Xiulian came all the way from Shanxi Province to Japan and gave their testimonies. At this moment, we are working with the Eight Route Army Taihang Memorial Museum, located in Wuxiang, Shanxi Province, to hold a similar Exhibition in China concurrently with the one that is presented at the WAM.

（６）All the 10 plaintiffs already passed away since we began working with them. Despite this, we intend to continue to visit and work with survivors' children in Shanxi Province  for the recovery of survivors' dignity and for the resolution of this issue. We consider these goals should be achieved without delay.

 

Contact   shanxi.daniang@gmail.com