by Sophia Maroulis Comfort women is the euphemistic term used to describe the estimated 200,000 women and girls that the Imperial Japanese army forced into systematic military sexual slavery from the early 1930s to the end of WWII (Soh 1227). Comfort women is a widely disputed term, both because it conceals the violent nature of sexual slavery and because many comfort women were minors between the ages of 13-17. However, most historians continue to use this term to identify this specific instance of military-sponsored and organized sex slavery compared to other instances of human trafficking.
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by Sofia Tomasic Importance World War II, especially the Pacific Theater, relied heavily on airfare to effectively cover large distances and fight. As a result, airpower made WW2 significantly different than WW1. For the Pacific Front, aircraft were necessary to keep shipping lanes open, help win naval battles, and employ important strategies like island hopping which helped Allied forces cover more land and eventually launch a mainland invasion of Japan. [1] by Ray Matsumoto Prince Konoe Fumimaro was born in Tokyo on October 12th, 1891, to the ancient Fujiwara family. He lost both parents by the age of fourteen and was raised by his uncle, Prince Tokugawa Iesato. Konoe studied communism and socialism at Kyoto Imperial University, influenced strongly by Karl Marx, Leo Tolstoy, and Peter Kropotkin (Chan, 1). After graduating from university, Konoe was named a member of the House of Peers, the upper House of the Imperial Diet, and became a staff member of the Home Ministry a year later. In 1918, he published an essay titled “Reject the Anglo-American-Centered Peace”(英米本位の平和主義を排す), where he argued that western hypocrisy undermined democracy through racially discriminatory imperialism (Chan, 3). In 1919, Konoe attended the Paris Peace Conference as Genrō Saionji Kinmochi’s secretary. Konoe was one of the Japanese diplomats who proposed the Racial Equality Proposal for the League of Nations. However, it was overturned by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. by Cameron Evans On July 7th, 1937, the uneasy peace that had existed between the Republic of China (ROC) and the Empire of Japan since the 1931 invasion and occupation of Manchuria had all but disintegrated as Japanese and Chinese troops exchanged fire in what would be known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The following eight years of conflict would be defined not only by the brutality but also by the scale of destruction, with tens of millions killed and wounded and entire regions devastated. The War of Resistance had begun. by Emma Jacobs In the weeks following the Pearl Harbor attacks, President Roosevelt declared allyship with China and appointed Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, the leader of China and the Chinese Nationalist Party, as Supreme Allied Commander throughout the Chinese theater. By February 1942, Joseph Stilwell, an American general, served as Chiang's chief of staff. Although Chiang expressed concerns over Stilwell's expanding military responsibilities, their early partnership was productive; however, the Burma campaign, beginning in mid-1942, would ultimately squander their alliance (Kuo et al.). After Japan commenced its occupation of Burma, Stilwell strategized to re-establish China's supply routes in Burma. Still, Chiang felt exploited by American armies that ordered his soldiers to maintain Britain's colonial rule. by Jolin Chan From ordinary men to political leaders to emperors, it was not uncommon before the Communist takeover in China for men to have multiple wives and concubines. The Kuomintang leaders were no exception, and their wives and mistresses proved to be more than simply idle partners of men with great political power and ambitions. Many of the wives and mistresses found ways to become deeply involved with the politics of China during their lifetimes, from helping their husbands or partners to taking on government roles that granted them immense power and voice. Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, and Wang Jingwei remain at the forefront of the history of the Kuomintang. Yet, the women that stood by their sides throughout the political turmoil played an essential role in determining the future of China. Many wives and mistresses from Soong Mei-ling to Chen Bijun found themselves not just during twentieth-century turmoil and political transitions. They also were instrumental in their country’s socio-political transformations themselves. Some of the women were pushed into the limelight, while others were forced to stay hidden and have nearly been forgotten. In the end, however, each of them left behind an important political legacy in a unique way. by Dylan Weir On May 2nd, 1945, two 26th Indian Infantry Division brigades landed via amphibious troop carriers on the banks of the Rangoon River in Burma (now Myanmar). Their mission was to reach the capital, Rangoon, and liberate it from the Japanese before the May monsoon arrived. Operation Dracula was the brainchild of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Admiral in the Royal Navy and Supreme Allied Commander of South East Asia Command (SEAC) since 1943. It was a plan with a complicated history, which involved understanding Burma's conflict during the Second World War. by Tori Borges Throughout World War II, the Japanese dispensed millions of soldiers who faced onslaughts of attacks by the enemy, resulting in mass casualties. Like most prolonged conflicts, the number of Japanese who died in the Pacific Theater is challenging to determine. Death totals today are estimations and can vary depending on who's reporting the data. However, examining the estimates of the Japanese death toll is crucial because it allows us to have a more complex view of Imperial Japan as more than just an aggressor. by Grace Wong After the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century, the United States gained the Philippines as a colonial possession and established a political and military presence there. The archipelago remained under American control until World War II, when the Japanese invaded it on December 8, 1941 – just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. by Austin Chen Hong Kong had a complicated history over the past 160 years: from its origin as a simple fishing village to a British colony to its transformation into an influential business and trade center. To discuss the history of Hong Kong, it is not impossible to mention Great Britain. Admittedly, Great Britain brought wealth, democracy, freedom, and modernization to this initially barren island. However, the way Great Britain took Hong Kong into its hand is disputable because the Chinese Empire and Great Britain did not exchange this tract of land in a mutually beneficial relationship. But instead, Hong Kong was occupied by Great Britain under three unequal treaties, each of them enlarged the area of Hong Kong. |