"For the Sake of Providing Comfort to All Imperial Soldiers Progressing on Every Front": An Analysis of Regulations on the Establishment and Management of a Japanese Panopticon Over "Comfort Women"

Abstract

Most sociological and historical accounts on sex trafficking and Japanese war crimes focus on conceptual and theoretical analyses concerning linkages between sex trafficking, social stratification, and victims. While these studies enhance theoretical knowledge about sexual slavery, they do not meticulously explore how the Japanese actually manipulated and managed sexual slavery in China into a legalized practice despite the fact that it blatantly violated Japanese and international law. I argue that Japan attempted to design sexual slavery into a legalized practice by exercising a Panopticon, or more specifically, by emphasizing the maintenance of tight regulations on hygiene, prohibition, and unruly behavior of soldiers inside brothels. These attempts do not hide the fact that the Japanese military breached Japanese and international law by abandoning a commitment to human rights and dignity as stipulated by the Japanese Criminal Code and The International Convention on the Prohibition of the Sale and Purchase of Women for Prostitution (1925).