Abstract
A controversial paper by Ramseyer, “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War,” which argued that the victims of sexual slavery (“the comfort women”) perpetrated by the Japanese military during World War II were voluntary prostitutes under contract, has raised substantial controversy around the world. This argument has provoked a public outcry, and thousands of scholars, including Nobel laureates, have criticized this paper and denounced it. Ramseyer has subsequently published a response to these critics in a non peer-reviewed, publicly accessible paper series disseminated by the John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business at Harvard University. His response does not remedy fundamental flaws and inaccuracies in his original paper. This essay discusses these flaws and inaccuracies and also points out the problematic manner in which the author mischaracterizes and omits key materials, misleading readers. The war may have ended several decades ago, but its trauma continues today, exacerbated by the troubling denials of the atrocities.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Professors Alex Lee and Alexis Dudden for very helpful comments. The author is also thankful to Mr. Andrew Smith, J.D. candidate at Georgia State University for his editorial assistance.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The Rule of Law as an Emergent Social Norm: Evidence from Qualitative Research in Russia
- Negotiating the Intellectual Property Protocol under the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area: Priorities and Opportunities for Nigeria
- The Rise of Germany in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries and Sustaining Democracy
- The Good Governance Quandary: The Elusive Search for Role Models
- Reviewing the Indonesian Anticorruption Court: A Cost-Effective Analysis
- The Constitutionality of Compulsory Land Acquisition in Vietnam: Issues and Recommendations
- Extractive Constitutions: Constitutional Change and Development Paths in Latin America
- Notes
- On Ramseyer’s Response to the Critics of “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War”
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The Rule of Law as an Emergent Social Norm: Evidence from Qualitative Research in Russia
- Negotiating the Intellectual Property Protocol under the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area: Priorities and Opportunities for Nigeria
- The Rise of Germany in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries and Sustaining Democracy
- The Good Governance Quandary: The Elusive Search for Role Models
- Reviewing the Indonesian Anticorruption Court: A Cost-Effective Analysis
- The Constitutionality of Compulsory Land Acquisition in Vietnam: Issues and Recommendations
- Extractive Constitutions: Constitutional Change and Development Paths in Latin America
- Notes
- On Ramseyer’s Response to the Critics of “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War”