It is painful to speak of such things and I would rather cover it up. He is one of a dwindling number of veterans with experience of the brothels. They also sparked a backlash in Japan. But Japan also did something wrong Just because someone else is a thief, is it all right to be a thief? Because someone else kills people, is it all right to be a murderer? Such doubts are common among Japanese ultra-conservatives.
The issue has often frayed ties between Tokyo and Seoul. Japan says the matter of compensation was settled under a treaty establishing diplomatic ties. In , Japan set up a fund to make payments to the women from private contributions, but South Korea says that was not official and so not enough. Matsumoto said the women had no means of escape from the walled town where his military unit was headquartered and were in fact sex slaves.
Recalling the conditions in which the women lived, Matsumoto said soldiers lining up for sex would unfasten their leg wrappings and lower their trousers so as to waste no time when their turns came. Only years later did Matsumoto come to believe his country had done something wrong. Discover Thomson Reuters. Directory of sites.
United States. Linda Sieg , Ruairidh Villar. Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan.
