IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 759 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government 

of Japan should formally acknowledge and accept responsibility for its 

sexual enslavement of young women, known to the world as ‘‘comfort 

women’’, during its colonial occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands 

from the 1930s through the duration of World War II, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 4, 2006 

Mr. EVANS (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 

Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the Government of Japan should formally acknowledge 

and accept responsibility for its sexual enslavement of 

young women, known to the world as ‘‘comfort women’’, 

during its colonial occupation of Asia and the Pacific 

Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World 

War II, and for other purposes. 

Whereas the Government of Japan, during its colonial occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s 

through the duration of World War II, organized the subjugation and kidnapping, for the sole purpose of sexual 


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•HRES 759 IH 

servitude, of young women, who became known to the 

world as ‘‘comfort women’’; 

Whereas the ‘‘comfort women’’ tragedy was one of the largest 

cases of human trafficking in the 20th century; 

Whereas the enslavement of comfort women was officially 

commissioned and orchestrated by the Government of 

Japan to include gang rape, forced abortions, sexual violence, human trafficking, and numerous other crimes 

against humanity; 

Whereas the comfort women included girls as young as 13 

years of age and women separated from their own children; 

Whereas the comfort women were either abducted from their 

homes or lured into sexual servitude under false pretenses; 

Whereas many comfort women were eventually killed or driven to commit suicide when the hostilities ceased; 

Whereas the use of ‘‘comfort women’’ is considered a current 

as well as past human rights issue; 

Whereas the shame connected to their ordeal caused many 

comfort women to conceal it and caused many others to 

come forward about their experiences only in recent 

years; 

Whereas historians conclude that as many as 200,000 women 

were enslaved, but very few of them survive today; 

Whereas the Government of Japan did not fully disclose these 

war crimes during negotiations for reparations with its 

former enemies and occupied countries; 

Whereas some textbooks used in Japanese schools minimize 

the ‘‘comfort women’’ tragedy and other atrocities, and 


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•HRES 759 IH 

distort the Japanese role in war crimes during World 

War II; and 

Whereas Japanese Government officials, both elected and career, as recently as June 2005, praised the removal of 

the term ‘‘comfort women’’ from Japanese textbooks: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the Government of Japan— 

3 (1) should formally acknowledge and accept re4 sponsibility for its sexual enslavement of young 

5 women, known to the world as ‘‘comfort women’’, 

6 during its colonial occupation of Asia and the Pacific 

7 Islands from the 1930s through the duration of 

8 World War II; 

9 (2) should educate current and future genera10 tions about this horrible crime against humanity; 

11 (3) should publicly, strongly, and repeatedly re12 fute any claims that the subjugation and enslave13 ment of comfort women never occurred; and 

14 (4) should follow the recommendations of the 

15 United Nations and Amnesty International with re16 spect to the ‘‘comfort women’’. 

Æ 


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