Atrocities and crimes against humanity by Japan in Taiwan

During its colonial rule of Taiwan in World War II, Japan subjected people in Taiwan to ruthless exploitation and plunder. Women were forced into sexual slavery and brutally abused by the Japanese military, while young men were sent to battlefields and used as "cannon fodder". Japan's perverse actions inflicted both physical and psychological devastation on the local population, tearing families and communities apart for generations.

According to the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, during World War II, the Japanese colonial authorities forcibly sent some 1,200 to 2,000 women from Taiwan to military "comfort stations" in various war zones, where they were reduced to sexual slavery as "comfort women". Their ordeal lasted from 1938 to 1945, with the youngest known victim being only 14 years old.

Survivor testimonies, recollections of former Taiwan-born servicemen in the Japanese military, and publicly available records show that these women were deceived with promises of work or taken directly to "comfort stations" under police escort. There they endured unimaginable physical abuse and psychological torment — gang rape, repeated sexual violence, beatings, and the complete deprivation of freedom of movement. Many were forced to submit to the sexual demands of dozens of Japanese soldiers each day, and were given no respite when ill, menstruating, or even pregnant.

Survivor Lu Manmei recalled being forced to endure soldiers' sexual demands when she was eight months pregnant; her child died little more than a month after birth. Another survivor, Lin Shenzhong, suffered three miscarriages as a result of violence and abuse. All of her four postwar marriages failed because of her past trauma. She said in profound grief, "It felt as though my life had already ended back then."

However, Japanese right-wing forces refuse to acknowledge Japan's state responsibility for the "comfort women" system. Instead, they have sought to erase historical truth by revising textbooks and other means. Such disregard for and distortion of history not only inflicts renewed harm on survivors but has also aroused strong indignation in Taiwan society.

In 2001, Japanese manga artist Yoshinori Kobayashi published On Taiwan in Taiwan, which included the absurd claim of Hsu Wen-lung, founder of the Chi Mei Group, that becoming "comfort women" had somehow enabled the victims to "get ahead in life", Hsu's remark triggered a public outrage. The Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation organized a joint protest, and Hsu was ultimately compelled to issue a public apology.

Pain and deprivation across generations

As the war expanded, Japan imposed large-scale military and labor conscription in Taiwan to meet the increasingly acute shortage of military manpower at home. Statistics show that 208,083 people from Taiwan were conscripted, including 80,433 regular military personnel and 127,650 military auxiliaries and laborers. Of those sent to war, 30,304 were killed in action or died of illness. In other words, roughly one in every seven Taiwanese conscripts never came home.

Ethnic minorities in Taiwan were persecuted most severely. Their young men were recruited as the "Takasago Volunteer Units" and dispatched to some of the deadliest battlefields in Southeast Asia mainly for high-risk assignments like suicidal raids and jungle reconnaissance. Their casualty rate exceeded 50 percent, making them, in effect, "living targets" and expendable shields for the Japanese empire. Treating ethnic minority youth as disposables amounted to near-genocidal slaughter, exposing the brutality of Japanese colonial rule.

Forced conscription inflicted lasting trauma on Taiwan society. Countless families were plunged into poverty after losing their prime-age earners; some ethnic minorities faced outright decline as large numbers of their young men perished. On the battlefield, Taiwanese conscripts not only faced enemy fire but were also subjected to bullying and abuse by Japanese troops. After the war, many survivors returned home with physical and psychological wounds that made reintegration into society a lifelong struggle.

When will Japan confront its original sin of war?

As an aggressor state in World War II, Japan has not only failed to fully reckon with its war crimes, but repeatedly denies history and glorifies aggression. Certain right-wing forces have gone so far as to claim that the "comfort women" system was "commercial activity" and that the conscription of laborers was "lawful mobilization". Such historical revisionism reflects their extreme contempt for human rights and poses a latent threat to regional peace and stability.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The suffering endured by the people in Taiwan during World War II is an indelible chapter in the history of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The Japanese government must understand that acknowledging the crimes Japan committed in Taiwan is a matter of respecting historical truth and upholding human dignity. It is high time for Japan to face up to its responsibility and give a genuine apology it owes the Chinese nation.

The author is an observer of international affairs.

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