ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
January 18, 2016
Filipinos raped by Japanese troops demand compensation
COMPENSATION CLAIM. Four of the remain-
ing 32 alleged World War II sex slaves clench their
fists along with their legal counsel, Harry Roque,
center, to demand compensation and an apology
from the Japanese government, during a news
conference in Manila, the Philippines. They are,
from left, Avelina Culala, 85, Isabelita Vinuya, 84,
Emilia Mangilit, 83, and Candelaria Soliman, 85.
(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
By Teresa Cerojano
The Associated Press
ANILA, The Philippines — A
group of elderly Filipino women
raped by Japanese troops during
World War II have called for compensation
from Japan, following Tokyo’s pledge of
$8.3 million for South Korean women
forced into Japanese military-run brothels
during the war.
The women’s lawyers said they were
also exploring the possibility of filing cases
with United Nations bodies and holding
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III
liable for allegedly failing to support the
case of the women against Japan.
Isabelita Vinuya, the 84-year-old
president of Malaya Lolas — a group of
Filipino women abducted and raped by
Japanese troops in their village — urged
the Philippine government to support
their demand for justice from Japan.
“We have appealed more than once or
twice to our government to help us, sup-
port us before Japan so that we can be
given justice for the sufferings we went
through during World War II,” Vinuya
said at a news conference, adding that
many of the women have died without
seeing justice.
M
Japan and South Korea recently
announced they had settled their decades-
long standoff over wartime sex slaves, with
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
apologizing and agreeing to contribute 1
billion yen ($8.3 million) for a foundation
to help support the victims. Historians say
tens of thousands of women from around
Asia were sent to frontline military
brothels to provide sex to Japanese
soldiers.
“Is there a difference in the rape of a
South Korean and a Filipino woman?”
Harry Roque, the Filipino victims’
lawyer, said at the news conference. “The
answer is there should be none, because
rape is a crime against women and is
prohibited by international humanitarian
law and is recognized as an international
crime.”
He noted that South Korea’s Supreme
Court had ordered the government to fight
for the rights of the Korean victims, but
that the Philippines’ top court dismissed in
2010 a case filed by Vinuya and 70 other
women urging the court to compel the
government to press their claims against
Japan. The Philippine court also denied an
appeal filed by the women.
Vinuya said she was 13 years old when
the Japanese troops raped women and
children in her village of Mapaniqui in
Pampanga province, around 37 miles
north of Manila. The troops also razed
homes and killed men in the village. Three
other women at the news conference said
they were teenagers when they were raped
during the siege.
Vinuya said only 32 of more than 90
women from her victims’ group are still
alive. Only 70 of 174 from another such
group, the Lila-Filipina, are alive, accord-
ing to its head, Richilda Extremadura.
Extremadura also called on Japan to
compensate former sex slaves and rape
victims from the Philippines and 11 other
countries and urged President Aquino to
initiate talks with Japan.
Seoul delivers barrage of K-pop
across border to North Korea
Continued from page one
messages to death, or a god
from
the
underworld,
saying it isn’t yet time to
say goodbye to living.
It was so popular among
young and old that Kakao
Talk, South Korea’s most
popular messenger app,
created
emoticons,
or
animated images, from the
music video. The song
inspired a host of online
parodies and memes, and
political parties reportedly
sought to use it in their
campaigns during up-
coming general elections.
Also echoing over the
Demilitarized
Zone:
GFriend’s “Me gustas Tu,”
about a girl who is trying to
muster courage and over-
come shyness to ask a boy
out. GFriend rose to fame
last year when a fan posted
a video on YouTube show-
ing its members standing
up after falling several
times on a slippery stage to
complete an outdoor per-
formance. The YouTube
video has nearly 9 million
views since it was uploaded
in September.
Other songs broadcast
across the border are by
singer IU, the popular
female group Apink, and
idol boy band Big Bang.
It’s not the first time
music has been employed
against an enemy. Most
famously, when the U.S.
invaded Panama in 1989 to
oust Manuel Noriega,
American forces blasted
rock music outside the
Vatican Embassy, where
the dictator had holed up,
to encourage his surrender.
North Koreans are pro-
hibited from listening to
K-pop, and are allowed to
listen only to government-
controlled radio stations or
television
channels.
Despite that, North Korean
defectors say South Korean
music is popular in their
home country, with songs
and other elements of
South Korean popular
culture smuggled in on
DVDs and USB sticks.
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