Hosaka Yuji: "Harvard Professor Who Claims Comfort Women Were Prostitutes Is a Pro-Japanese Collaborator"

John Mark Ramseyer, Professor at Harvard Law School (right) / Photo by Harvard Law School 공개 동영상 캡쳐

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Amid controversy over a paper published by Harvard University professor John Mark Ramseyer claiming that "Japanese military comfort women were prostitutes, not sex slaves," Sejong University professor Hosaka Yuji criticized on the 2nd that he is a "pro-Japanese professor who ignores all documents."

On that day, Professor Hosaka Yuji of Sejong University said on YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Start of a New Morning,' "(Professor Ramseyer) argues that the problem lies not with the Japanese government or military but with the recruiters at the time," explaining, "It is almost in the same context as saying that comfort women existed because their interests aligned."

Professor Hosaka Yuji of Sejong University is giving a lecture on November 7 last year at Gwangsan District Office in Gwangju, titled "Today’s Republic of Korea Seen Through the Human Rights of Forced Labor Victims," as part of a training program to enhance public officials' awareness of history and human rights. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Regarding the Japanese media's evaluation of Ramseyer's paper as having "great significance in research," he said, "(The Sankei Shimbun, which makes such an evaluation) is a newspaper that has consistently denied the comfort women issue," adding that it is difficult to say that the entire Japanese media has widely publicized it in this way.

He also explained, "At that time, there were many women engaged in prostitution in Japan, but only 62% could become officially licensed prostitutes, so there were actually more women wanting to engage in prostitution," and "The problem is that the paper claims that women went to the police station and declared their intention to become comfort women before going abroad, and then the Japanese government sent them overseas, but this did not actually happen."

He continued, "There is a document that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned about because it is based solely on a request from the Japanese military, but Professor Ramseyer ignores all these parts," pointing out.

He added, "(Professor Ramseyer) grew up in Japan until his childhood and adolescence, so he was greatly influenced by Japanese culture," and "Therefore, he is known as a pro-Japanese figure. It cannot be ruled out that this paper was written as a measure, especially after the Berlin Statue of Peace was decided to be installed by the parliament in Japan."

Finally, Professor Hosaka emphasized, "It is very important that our scholars publish many such concrete papers."

Earlier, on the 1st, according to the Japanese Sankei Shimbun, a paper by Harvard Law School professor John Mark Ramseyer, which contains the view that Japanese military comfort women existed as an extension of domestic prostitution recognized under government regulation at the time, was scheduled to be published in March this year in the 'International Review of Law and Economics,' sparking controversy.