Yes! Comfort women motion passed!
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Yonhap - A U.S. House committee on Tuesday passed with overwhelming support a resolution condemning Japan's sexual enslavement of women during the past century.
Resolution 121 passed the Foreign Affairs Committee 39 to 2 after an hour and half of debate by legislators.
But the final text was toned down in part from the initial version that demanded an unequivocal apology by the Japanese prime minister.
Instead, the resolution says it "would help" resolve recurring questions about Tokyo's sincerity "if the prime minister of Japan were to make" a clear-cut apology.
It, however, retains demands that the government of Japan "formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner" for coercion of young women into sexual slavery.
Rep. Michael Honda, the author of the resolution, told reporters immediately after the passage that he is optimistic the resolution will go to the House floor around second week of July and be passed there as well.
Loud applause exploded in the audience as soon as the resolution passed. Former comfort women and Korean-American activists who spent years advocating their cause were seated throughout the audience, watching the debate.
By Tuesday, 149 congressmen co-sponsored the resolution, well over the 120 asked for by committee leaders before marking it up for a vote.
This is the second time that the House committee endorsed the resolution on comfort women, a euphemistic term for tens of thousands of young girls, mostly Korean, who were forced into prostitution to serve Japanese soldiers before and during World War II. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule at the time.
The House body, previously called the International Relations Committee, passed a similar resolution in September last year. Resolution 121 was endorsed again by the new Congress, controlled by Democrats.
Earlier resolutions, proposed in 2001 and 2005, expired even before reaching a committee vote.
Committee chairman Tom Lantos said Tokyo's refusal to officially apologize to the comfort women was "disturbing."
"Post-war Germany made the right choice. Japan, on the other hand, has actively promoted historical amnesia," he said.
Amnesty International applauded Tuesday's results.
"Amnesty International urges nations across the world to follow the U.S. Congress's lead and put pressure on the Japanese government to ensure that survivors receive full reparation, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation," it said in a statement.
A coalition of Korean-American groups put out a joint statement saying the victims will now "be able to restore their dignity."
"We are convinced that in the near future, the House of Representatives will also pass the resolution."
Honda, a Californian Democrat, submitted the resolution in January. His role drew public attention because he is of Japanese ancestry. His family was a victim of internment during World War II, an experience he said propelled him to seek Japan's apology for comfort women just as the U.S. did for the internment.
The final text was amended in an agreement between Lantos and ranking member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to add two paragraphs emphasizing the U.S.-Japan alliance.
The alliance is the "cornerstone" of U.S. security in Asia and the Pacific, the amendment said.
The two countries continue to cooperate on "shared vital interests and values... including the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions," it said.
Lantos said the Congress does not seek to hold Japan in "perpetual punishment."
"We want a full reckoning of history to help everyone heal, and then move on," he said.
Rep. Donald Manzullo, a Illinois Republican, voted no on the resolution, questioning whether the committee "has the wisdom" to judge another country.
"We are being asked to vote on the quality of acknowledgement and the quality of the apology as argued between two great allies," he said.
Lantos quickly rebutted, saying, "We are not dealing with inter-country disputes. We are dealing the fundamental issue of human rights."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher voted in favour, but asked that the committee also consider a separate resolution lauding the importance of U.S.-Japan relations.
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REACTIONS
The 121 Coalition
The 121 Coalition, a national coalition representing nearly 200 civic organizations committed to defending the human rights of "Comfort Women" survivors, enthusiastically welcomes today's passage of House Resolution 121 in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution, designated as H.Res. 121, was introduced by Representative Michael Honda (D-California) last January. It expresses "the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as 'comfort women,' during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II."
H.Res. 121 has received bipartisan support from 149 co-sponsors and today's vote is an indication that this historic resolution is headed for passage by the full House of Representatives. "We commend the leadership of Chairman Tom Lantos for championing H.Res.121 before the full Committee on Foreign Affairs," said Annabel Park, National Coordinator for the 121 Coalition. "We now respectfully ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to schedule consideration of H.Res.121 on the House Floor as soon as possible."
Members of the coalition feel that passage of H.Res.121 will send an important message to the Government of Japan that the remaining "Comfort Women" survivors deserve justice and the restoration of their fundamental dignity, and that truth, reconciliation, and stability in the region require Japan's acknowledgment of historical responsibility for its World War II-era policies. From 1932 through the end of World War II, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands, the Government of Japan organized the systematic trafficking, enslavement, and brutal rape of 200,000 girls and women. H.Res.121 calls on the Government of Japan to officially acknowledge and accept responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for organizing and maintaining this system of sexual slavery.
The 121 Coalition, comprised of human rights and pan-Asian civic organizations from across the United States, remains deeply committed and fundamentally united in our support for this important human and women's rights issue.
For more information about H.Res. 121.
Amnesty International
T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA Advocacy Director for Asia & the Pacific, issued the following statement in response to today's committee passage:
"Amnesty International applauds the Foreign Affairs Committee for passing House Resolution 121, and urges the full House to pass the measure.
"Tens of thousands of women were abducted and deceived into becoming 'comfort women,' forced to live in military-controlled 'comfort stations' and repeatedly raped and condemned to sexual slavery. Comfort stations were organized throughout occupied Asia before and during World War II. Amnesty International strongly believes that the crimes perpetrated against these women were crimes against humanity.
"Amnesty International urges nations across the world to follow the U.S. Congress's lead and put pressure on the Japanese government to ensure that survivors receive full reparation including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation."
More on Amnesty International's work on Japan
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