Countering History Denialism: The Assault on Truth about 'Comfort Women'

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Written by Internationally-known 'comfort women' scholars and redress activists, this book critically examines and evaluates the erroneous claim that Japanese and Korean 'comfort women' (KCW) were voluntary prostitutes with labor contracts, rather than sexual slaves. It also critically evaluates many unsubstantiated arguments and unjustifiable criticisms of the redress movement led by the Korean Council. Contents: About the Editor About the Contributors Acknowledgments Foreword (Margaret D Stetz) Introduction (Pyong Gap Min) Summary Information about the 'Comfort Women' Issue and the Redress Movement (Pyong Gap Min) My Response to Ramseyer's Effort to Deny the History of JMSS (Pyong Gap Min) Ramseyer, the Japanese Right Wing, and the 'History Wars' (Tomomi Yamaguchi) Ramseyer's History Denialism and the Efforts to 'Save Ramseyer' — Focusing on the Critique of 'A Response to My Critics' (2022) (Sung-Hyun Kang) Listen to the Voices of the Women (Judith Mirkinson) Response to 'Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War' by John Mark Ramseyer (Yoshimi Yoshiaki, Emi Koyama (Trans.), Norma Field (Trans.), and Tomomi Yamaguchi (Trans.)) Concluding Remarks (Pyong Gap Min) Index Readership: Academic researchers — sociology, East Asian history, gender studies, international law, women's human rights issues and economics in the United States, Canada, Europe and East Asian countries; redress activists in Korea, Japan, the United States; university libraries in Korea, Japan and the United States; General public. 'The so-called 'Comfort Women' issue has seen waves of denialism over time. This edited volume takes on its most recent iteration: the revisionist arguments made by Mark Ramseyer, of Harvard Law School, who engaged in creative forms of theorizing to argue that the girls' and women's engagements had been voluntary. The historical record always has gaps; this is especially so with regard to wartime records on young, socially disadvantaged women. However, the historical evidence in this case leaves little doubt as to the women's plight. In its evidence-based approach and historical research based on primary language sources, Min and other authors of the chapters join a roster of respected historians like Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Andrew Gordon, Alexis Dudden, and Carter Eckert, in a morally essential defense not only of the war's victims, but also of academic standards and rigor.' - Anna K M Skarpelis Richard Lachmann Chair of Sociology and Assistant Professor CUNY Queens College, USA 'John Mark Ramseyer, a Professor of Harvard Law School, published his article 'Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War' in The International Review of Law and Economics in 2021. It shocked 'comfort women' scholars and the redress activists for the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery. Several scholars have published their articles to critically evaluate his 2021 article and 2022 paper. Countering History Denialism: The Assault on Truth about 'Comfort Women' provides the most comprehensive critiques of Ramseyer' unacceptable arguments. The book has demonstrated that Ramseyer provided the same Japanese history denialism.' - Chin-Sung Chung Emeritus Professor of Sociology Seoul National University, South Korea

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Pages: 292, Hardcover, World Scientific Publishing Company