Interrogation Report No.49
In 1944, the U.S. military's psychological warfare team conducted an investigation into 20 Comfort Women and 2 'masters' (Japanese pimps) in Burma. This interrogation report has often been cited by Japanese scholars and politicians to prove that the Comfort Women were simply voluntary prostitutes. However, there are a lot of flaws that prove that firstly, this interrogation report provides inconsistent claims on the nature of the Comfort Women system.
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Alex Yorichi was a Japanese American soldier investigating the effectiveness of Japanese-language leaflets distributed in the Japanese-occupied territories in Burma. The report was not a formal investigation into the treatment of women or the conditions in "comfort stations" but instead centered on the psychological warfare tactics the U.S. had employed. It is also likely that the interviews were conducted in Japanese, and therefore the 20 young Comfort Women, who were likely from Korea or China, were unable to provide the most accurate statements.
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This quote has been frequently cited by Japanese revisionist scholars and politicians as proof that the system was not a forced system of sexual slavery.
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This section proves that the Comfort Women were not informed of the exact nature of service they were signing up to do. Even though many were directly kidnapped, most women were lured under false pretenses.
This statement reveals the underlying prejudice against the girls that were being interviewed. He crudely judges their appearance in an official military report.
This section demonstrates that the Japanese government was actively involved in the creation and management of the system. It was not individual Japanese businessmen creating these stations but a state-sponsored systematic execution of sexual slavery.
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