2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
As a follow-up measure to the 1993 Kono Statement, all Japanese middle school history textbooks released in 1997 included information on “comfort women.” However, in February 1997, the Association of Young Diet Members for Japan’s Future and Historical Education (日本の前途と歴史教育を考える若手議員の会) was established, and Shinzo Abe—who later became Japan’s Prime Minister (2006–2007, 2012–2020)—served as its first executive director (事務局長). In that position, Abe lead a movement to promote a nationalistic view of the history of Japan; the resulting textbooks glossed over war crimes committed by Japan, including the “comfort women” system. In response to the survivors’ demands for justice and the Japanese government’s ongoing misrepresentation of history, the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery convened in Tokyo from December 8 to 12, 2000.
This tribunal resulted from the collective efforts of non-governmental organizations throughout Asia. More than a thousand people attended each day of the tribunal over the course of five days. The prosecutors came from Japan, South Korea, North Korea, China, Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Taiwan Province of China, and the Netherlands. Thirty-five of the sixty-four surviving victims representing Asian countries, including North and South Korea, China, and Indonesia took part in the trial and testified. The 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal, gathering testimonies from the surviving victims, tried groups and individuals for rape and sexual slavery on behalf of the surviving former “comfort women.”
Judge Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald, former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 1997 to 1999, presided over the Tokyo Tribunal 2000. On December 12, 2000, the Court delivered the preliminary judgment that found Emperor Hirohito (served 1926–1947) guilty of the charges on the basis of command responsibility. The panel of judges—Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald, Carmen Argibay, Christine Chinkin, and Willy Mutunga—also found the Japanese government responsible and recommended reparations. The International Organizing Committee (IOC), chaired by representatives from South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, drafted the Charter of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal 2000 for the Trial of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery. The IOC convenors were: Chung-Ok Yun from the Korean Council, Matsui Yayori from the Violence Against Women in War Network Japan (VAWW-NET Japan), and Indai Loudres Sajor from the Asian Centre for Women’s Human Rights. At the 5th Asian Solidarity Conference held in Seoul, Korea in April 1998, Matsui Yayori proposed holding a Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal. Two years later, a tribunal was convened in Tokyo.
Since the 1960s, Yayori made tireless efforts to bring justice to victims of sexual violence. Working as a Japanese journalist at The Asahi Shimbun in the 1960s, Yayori raised awareness about sexual slavery and sex tourism in post-war Asia. In 1976, she founded Asian Women in Solidarity, and in 1998, she helped to create the Japanese branch of VAWW-NET. Her activism and leadership in the women’s rights movement helped to bring the history and issues surrounding the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery to the international level in a restoratively judicious manner. In her will, she left money to establish the Women’s Active Museum of War and Peace in Tokyo (WAM), which opened in 2005.
On December 4, 2001, The Hague issued the final verdict of the 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery, stating that Emperor Hirohito was [posthumously] guilty of criminal negligence. The tribunal found Emperor Hirohito, the most responsible individual and supreme commander of the country, ultimately responsible for executing the military sexual slavery system. In addition, nine Japanese military officials and the Japanese Emperor Hirohito were found guilty of incurring individual and superior responsibility for the crimes of rape and sexual slavery committed as part of the military sexual slavery system. Although the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal did not have legal powers to enforce the judgment, and, therefore, not all of the accused were convicted, it enabled the voices of former “comfort women” to be heard around the world, legitimizing their stories and experiences at an international level.
Eighteen years later, the surviving victims of the Vietnam War and the plaintiffs at the 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery, who were empowered by the process and the result of the 2000 tribunal, helped spearhead the 2018 People’s Tribunal for the Vietnam War Crimes by Korean Troops during the Vietnam War. The organizing committee includes Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society), Korea-Vietnam Peace Foundation, and the Korean Council. This tribunal was held in Seoul, South Korea.
This tribunal resulted from the collective efforts of non-governmental organizations throughout Asia. More than a thousand people attended each day of the tribunal over the course of five days. The prosecutors came from Japan, South Korea, North Korea, China, Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Taiwan Province of China, and the Netherlands. Thirty-five of the sixty-four surviving victims representing Asian countries, including North and South Korea, China, and Indonesia took part in the trial and testified. The 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal, gathering testimonies from the surviving victims, tried groups and individuals for rape and sexual slavery on behalf of the surviving former “comfort women.”
Judge Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald, former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 1997 to 1999, presided over the Tokyo Tribunal 2000. On December 12, 2000, the Court delivered the preliminary judgment that found Emperor Hirohito (served 1926–1947) guilty of the charges on the basis of command responsibility. The panel of judges—Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald, Carmen Argibay, Christine Chinkin, and Willy Mutunga—also found the Japanese government responsible and recommended reparations. The International Organizing Committee (IOC), chaired by representatives from South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, drafted the Charter of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal 2000 for the Trial of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery. The IOC convenors were: Chung-Ok Yun from the Korean Council, Matsui Yayori from the Violence Against Women in War Network Japan (VAWW-NET Japan), and Indai Loudres Sajor from the Asian Centre for Women’s Human Rights. At the 5th Asian Solidarity Conference held in Seoul, Korea in April 1998, Matsui Yayori proposed holding a Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal. Two years later, a tribunal was convened in Tokyo.
Since the 1960s, Yayori made tireless efforts to bring justice to victims of sexual violence. Working as a Japanese journalist at The Asahi Shimbun in the 1960s, Yayori raised awareness about sexual slavery and sex tourism in post-war Asia. In 1976, she founded Asian Women in Solidarity, and in 1998, she helped to create the Japanese branch of VAWW-NET. Her activism and leadership in the women’s rights movement helped to bring the history and issues surrounding the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery to the international level in a restoratively judicious manner. In her will, she left money to establish the Women’s Active Museum of War and Peace in Tokyo (WAM), which opened in 2005.
On December 4, 2001, The Hague issued the final verdict of the 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery, stating that Emperor Hirohito was [posthumously] guilty of criminal negligence. The tribunal found Emperor Hirohito, the most responsible individual and supreme commander of the country, ultimately responsible for executing the military sexual slavery system. In addition, nine Japanese military officials and the Japanese Emperor Hirohito were found guilty of incurring individual and superior responsibility for the crimes of rape and sexual slavery committed as part of the military sexual slavery system. Although the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal did not have legal powers to enforce the judgment, and, therefore, not all of the accused were convicted, it enabled the voices of former “comfort women” to be heard around the world, legitimizing their stories and experiences at an international level.
Eighteen years later, the surviving victims of the Vietnam War and the plaintiffs at the 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery, who were empowered by the process and the result of the 2000 tribunal, helped spearhead the 2018 People’s Tribunal for the Vietnam War Crimes by Korean Troops during the Vietnam War. The organizing committee includes Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society), Korea-Vietnam Peace Foundation, and the Korean Council. This tribunal was held in Seoul, South Korea.