EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOUNDATION
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Wednesday Demonstration

On January 8, 1992, the Korean Council organized its first “Wednesday Demonstration,” a protest amplifying the voices of “comfort women,” in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. The demonstration was held nine days prior to a visit from   Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (served 1991–1993) to South Korea. Two days after the first Wednesday Demonstration, Japanese professor Yoshimi announced in The Asahi Shimbun that he had discovered hard evidence from the Defense Agency Library of Tokyo that the Imperial Japanese Army had indeed established and run “comfort stations.” The Wednesday Demonstration has continued on a weekly basis ever since. The only time the Korean Council skipped the demonstration was when the Great Hanshin earthquake (阪神・淡路大震災) occurred on January 17, 1995 in Japan. In March 2002, the Wednesday Demonstration was listed in the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest rally on a single theme. 

The weekly Wednesday Demonstration has served as a platform to express victims’ opposition to the Asian Women’s Fund (AWF). On June 19, 1995, AWF was formally established by the Japanese government with donations from Japanese citizens and government funding. The purpose of AWF was to provide surviving victims with monetary support and services, to compile materials on the “comfort women” system for the historical record, and to support issues related to violence against women. However, AWF was subject to criticism by some countries, especially South Korea, because the Japanese government limited its involvement in AWF by paying only for its operational, medical, and support expenses. The government refused to pay for the fund directly. Therefore, the money from the AWF was perceived as “charity” from the Japanese government rather than reparations. In her 1996 report submitted to the Commission on Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteur Radhika Coomaraswamy wrote that she sees AWF as “a clear statement denying any legal responsibility for the situation of these women and this is reflected in particular in the desire to raise funds from the private sector.” The Asian Women’s Fund was dissolved on March 31, 2007.

Participating in the Wednesday Demonstration has become a way for Japanese citizens to recognize the tragedy and apologize to the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery. On February 2, 2003, a member of the Japanese House of Councillors, Tomiko Okazaki, attended the Wednesday Demonstration and offered her apology to all of the victims at the demonstration  by holding their hands. On October 19, 2016, at the age of 79, Toru Endo (遠藤 徹), a former philosophy professor at Yamaguchi University, kneeled in front of two survivors and apologized. 

On December 14, 2011, in commemoration of the 1,000th Wednesday Demonstration, with widespread public support, the Korean Council installed the Peace Statue (also known as Peace Girl Statue) facing the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. The sculptors are Seo-kyung Kim and Eun-sung Kim. What they hoped to project through the statue was the importance of empathy. The number of statues has multiplied in and outside of Korea since the installation of the first Peace Statue. The Kims feel that this might be a reaction against the Japanese government trying to revise the history of “comfort women.” 

​The 1,421st Wednesday Demonstration held on January 8, 2020 marked the 28th anniversary of the weekly demonstration. 
January 8, 1992
January 8, 2020
Photo credit: Korean Council

ESJF at the Wednesday Demonstration

Picture
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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Social Justice Education
      • Advocacy >
        • International Community Outreach >
          • Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School >
            • Our First Advocacy
            • ESJF Student Art Competition
            • ESJF Statement: “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’” Shut Down to Suppress Freedom of Expression
            • Letter to Aichi Prefectural Triennale Promotion Office
          • Days for Girls International
        • Civil Society
    • Blog
    • Interviews and articles
  • Educator Resources
    • Sexual and Gender-based Violence >
      • Japanese military sexual slavery system >
        • Brief Historical Background
        • Lesson Plans and Worksheets >
          • ​In Their Own Words
          • Resistance & Collective activism
          • Denial of legal and historical responsibility
          • ​Remembering and honoring "comfort women"
          • Global plague
          • Contemporary movements towards justice
          • Worksheets
          • Puzzles
        • 2017 CA H-SS Framework >
          • Basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
        • Map of "Comfort Women" Memorials in the United States
        • Survivors' Testimonies & Legacies >
          • Korea
          • China
          • Philippines
          • Indonesia
          • Japan
          • Netherlands
        • Primary Source Documents: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
          • Concerning the Recruitment of Women for Military Comfort Stations
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Report No. 49
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Bulletin No. 2
          • SEATIC Psychological Warfare Bulletin No. 182
          • G-3 Daily Dairy
          • C.B.I. Roundup
          • Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) No. 470
          • Research Report No. 120: Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces
          • San Francisco Local History >
            • Resolutions >
              • Resolution 158-25A1
            • Chronology: Teaching "Comfort Women" History from the 1990s to Present
          • Images
        • Secondary Source Documents and ESJF Statements >
          • Secondary Resource References
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, April 21, 2021
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, January 8, 2021
          • International Joint Statement, August 14, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, March 1, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, October 6, 2018
          • International Joint Statement, January 7, 2018
        • Reflections on Collective Activism in SF >
          • Reflection and Chronology: Eric Mar
          • Reflection: Steven Whyte & Ellen Wilson
          • Reflection: Sung Sohn
        • International "Comfort Women" Day >
          • 30th Anniversary of Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni's public testimony >
            • Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni
        • 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
        • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement
        • 2017 Special Task Force Report on 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement between S. Korea and Japan
        • UNESCO and the "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'" >
          • Timeline
          • 2021 Youth Artwork Competition
          • 2021 Young Adult Online Campaign
        • Historic Lawsuits related to Japanese military sexual slavery before and during WWII >
          • Sung Sohn's Essay with commentaries and statement
        • YouTube >
          • First Video Footage of Korean "Comfort Women": July, 2017
          • First Video Footage of Mass Murdered "Comfort Women": Feb. 2018
          • Life as a "Comfort Woman": Story of Kim Bok-Dong
          • Meet Estelita Dy: A Filipino "Comfort Woman" Survivor
          • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement and Victims' Reaction
          • 2018 International "Comfort Women" Day
        • Wednesday Demonstration
        • Peace Statue
      • Sexual and medical violence against Black Americans >
        • Lesson Plans >
          • Medical Experimentation on Enslaved Women
          • Nurse Rivers
      • Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray and Afghanistan
      • Reports and Papers on SGBV & Gender Justice
    • History of and Issues Surrounding Asian Diaspora in the United States >
      • ESJF >
        • 19th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • 20th Century >
          • Lesson Plans
        • Today >
          • Lesson Plans
      • TACT >
        • K-5
        • 6-8
        • 9-12
      • Facing History and Ourselves
      • Fred T. Korematsu Institute
      • San Francisco Asian Art Museum
      • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons >
      • United States >
        • Lesson Plans
      • Asia >
        • Lesson Plans
        • Video Footage for Classroom
        • Primary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Secondary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
      • Europe >
        • Lesson Plans
    • Resistance and Collective Activism >
      • U.S. Slavery
      • Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
  • ESJF Publications
    • "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Teacher Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
      • Student Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons
  • ESJF Professional Development opportunities
  • Get Involved
    • Join Our Email List
    • Donate
    • Contact Us >
      • Workshop and Lecture Request