Nine Taiwanese women who were used as sex slaves during WWII are suing the Japanese government for damages and are also seeking an apology. They are filing their complaint to the Tokyo District Court on Monday, asking for $82,000 each in compensation.
Despite the fact that in 1998, the Japanese courts denied retribution to Filipina women who were “comfort women” during the war, stating that they did not approve of granting compensation to individuals. They did, however, award money to South Korean sex slaves in previous months.
The Japanese government has only recently acknowledged that companies ran front-line brothels during WWII and has failed to compensate former sex slaves with adequate apologies or reparation. Many women have decided not to accept what little money the government has offered, arguing that it was not enough and that Japan was trying to deny responsibility for its wartime actions.
