Comfort Women: Exploring the Phenomenon and the Patriarchal Structures That Delayed Its Exposure and Recognition

The system of military sexual slavery instituted by the Japanese Imperial Army – commonly referred to through the euphemism “comfort women” – was shaped and sustained by deeply entrenched patriarchal structures that facilitated both its implementation and the prolonged silencing of its victims. Within the broader context of Japanese imperial expansion and wartime ideology, gendered violence was organized, normalized and, later, obscured through political and societal mechanisms. For decades, survivors were denied recognition and their testimonies met with resistance from both domestic and international actors. Efforts to achieve acknowledgment and redress have been hindered by ambivalent state responses, fluctuating between partial apologies and outright denial, and by geopolitical interests that often override survivors’ demands for justice. The role of patriarchy is central to understanding not only the origins and operation of the comfort women system, but also the discursive and institutional barriers that have obstructed historical accountability. Through an analysis of official terminology, national myth-making and feminist activism this study illuminates the ongoing influence of gendered power hierarchies on historical memory, political negotiation and transitional justice.