[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Mark Ramseyer, a professor at Harvard Law School who wrote a paper distorting the issue of Japanese military comfort women as 'voluntary prostitutes,' has remained silent day after day following the controversy. While remaining unresponsive to students' questions, it has been revealed that he has been communicating with Japanese supporters.
On the 5th (local time), Harvard's campus newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, reported on Ramseyer's recent activities.
According to the report, on the 2nd, a Japanese individual posted a screenshot of emails exchanged with Ramseyer on their social networking service (SNS).
In the photo, the Japanese person encouraged Ramseyer, saying, "Koreans are continuing relentless attacks. Koreans have a nature of attacking relentlessly once they see a weakness," urging him not to lose to Koreans and to keep standing up to them. They also praised Ramseyer as "the only hope of the Japanese people."
Ramseyer replied to this email in Japanese, saying, "Thank you for your kind and touching letter. I will do my best."
The Harvard Crimson reported that through a Harvard colleague of Ramseyer, it was confirmed that the email exchange was genuine. An anonymous professor asked Ramseyer if he had communicated with the person in question, and Ramseyer himself confirmed it. Ramseyer added, "When I receive encouraging emails, I politely send a message of thanks."
Furthermore, although the problematic photo has now been deleted, the Harvard Crimson explained that judging from other posts on the SNS, the Japanese individual appears to be a far-right figure.
Previously, on the 1st of last month, Ramseyer published a paper claiming that Japanese military comfort women were not sex slaves but voluntary prostitutes, sparking controversy.
Subsequently, on the 5th of last month, The Harvard Crimson asked Ramseyer in an interview whether he denied any relationship with the Japanese government, to which Ramseyer retorted, "Now why would I do that?" raising suspicions that he might have implicitly acknowledged ties with the Japanese government.
Ramseyer stated to The Harvard Crimson that he denies any relationship with the Japanese government influencing his paper and expressed that he is preparing a piece defending his paper. However, since the 17th of last month, he has remained silent without any notable activity.
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