Survivors of the “comfort women” system are very elderly, and many have died. At least two survivors AI delegates met with when researching for the report on this issue have since died. It is therefore important to work towards realizing justice for these women as soon as possible.

The Japanese government has vigorously defended its legal position on this issue and has persistently maintained that all issues of compensation have been settled by post World War II (WWII) peace treaties (including the San Francisco Peace treaty and bi-lateral treaty arrangements between Japan and relevant parties). Japan’s apologies to the former “comfort women” have also been half-hearted. Japan’s answer to compensation – the Asian Women’s Fund (AWF) - has failed to meet international guidelines on reparations and has divided many of the former “comfort women” and their support groups.

Amnesty International calls on the government of Japan to ensure that survivors receive full reparation including: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. The organization calls on the government of Japan to:
1) Accept full responsibility for the "comfort women" system, including publicly acknowledging the harm that these women suffered, restore the dignity of the survivors and publicly denounce sexual violence against women, whenever and wherever it occurs.

2) Issue an apology from the Japanese Diet that is acceptable to the majority of "comfort women" and their immediate relatives.

3) Offer adequate and effective compensation directly from the Japanese government to the "comfort women" or their immediate relatives. This compensation should take into account the violations committed against them including the long term denial of the remedy itself and issues such as lost opportunities and livelihoods.

4) Guarantee non-repetition by:
  • Ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
  • Supporting efforts to agree on an international arms trade treaty to stop the proliferation of weapons used to commit human rights violations such as violence against women;


5) Provide an accurate account of the sexual slavery system in Japanese educational text books on World War II.

(For more information see Still Waiting After 60 Years: Justice for Survivors of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery System, AI Index: ASA 22/012/2005)