So the City of Osaka just terminated its sister city relationship with San Francisco, over the inclusion into city property of a statue for Comfort Women that includes this plaque:
This monument bears witness to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of women and girls euphemistically called ‘Comfort Women,’ who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces in thirteen Asian-Pacific countries from 1931 to 1945.
The article notes,
San Francisco Board of Supervisors received dozens of complaints about the statue from local residents and Japanese who warned it misrepresented history and would harm bilateral relations.
....
Yoshimura has called the memorial a form of Japan-bashing. In late September, he and Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui expressed their displeasure with San Francisco to U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty, calling the memorial “mistaken history.”
And the r/japan thread on this is full of debate about it too. The main counter-points seem to be that 1) It wasn't
What do you guys think about this issue? Is the plaque accurate, or does it misrepresent history? Is this a form of Japan-bashing?
There is certainly more to be said on this subject (and I hope somebody does come in and write you a comprehensive answer), but we do have some past responses that may help you:
What were the social ramifications for the "comfort women" of World War 2 after the war ended?
How truthful are the claims re. comfort women made in this recent Best Of'd post?
