Latest news with #Matsubara
Asahi Shimbun
4 days ago
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
Film sheds light on settlers' sex deal with Soviets in Manchuria
Fumie Matsubara, director of 'Kurokawa no Onnatachi,' discusses her documentary film in Osaka's Yodogawa Ward on June 19. (Akari Uozumi) A statue called 'Otome no Hi' (Monument to the maidens) was erected in 1982 in Gifu Prefecture. But an explanation on who the 'maidens' were and why they were being commemorated did not appear until 36 years later. A plaque inscribed with an epitaph explaining the long-hidden shame of the former village of Kurokawa was set up in 2018. And now, a documentary film sheds further light on the plight of the maidens, who were forced to 'sexually entertain' Soviet soldiers in exchange for their protection of the village's settlement in Manchuria after Japan's defeat in World War II. Directed by Fumie Matsubara, 'Kurokawa no Onnatachi' ('In Their Own Words: The Women of Kurokawa') focuses on women who started talking on camera about their traumatic experiences of sexual violence nearly 70 years after the war. It also features an association of bereaved family members of the Manchurian settlers who, inspired by the women, went to great lengths to set up the explanatory plaque at the stone monument. PROTECTION DEAL Settlers from Kurokawa, now part of Shirakawa town, emigrated to Manchuria in northeast China when it was under Japanese rule. After the war ended and the Japanese troops went home, the settlers were left to fend for themselves in hostile territory. From September through November 1945, they offered about 15 unmarried females between 17 and 21 years old to Soviet soldiers in return for protection against looters and angry locals. Four of the women died in Manchuria. The settlers eventually returned to Japan and kept mum about the sexual services. But the surviving women who came home suffered from defamatory insults. GOING PUBLIC The stone monument was erected to console the souls of the four women who died far from home. Director Matsubara has been covering the Kurokawa settlers since 2018, when she was working at TV Asahi Corp. and presented a two-minute news clip about the completion of the explanatory plaque. At the time, she was also pursuing a political scandal over falsified Finance Ministry documents concerning the heavily discounted sale of state-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen, a private educational institution. 'At a time when history was being forged, ordinary people were squarely facing an inconvenient fact of history,' Matsubara recalled. 'I felt it was a great consolation.' The film captures the changes the women went through after they shared their experiences. Harue Sato was 20 years old when she was in Manchuria and is one of the first women who went public about her ordeal. Students and locals started visiting her home to hear her stories. A senior high school teacher in the area offers a class on wartime violence based on Sato's recounts. Reiko Yasue, who was 17 when the war ended, had kept her past a secret even from family members. She would only talk about her experiences on condition of anonymity. She couldn't sleep when she remembered her days of anguish, and she rarely smiled. But her wounds began to heal when her granddaughter and other supporters, who learned about the sexual violence through news reports and books, gave her warm words. 'I really felt that dignity can be restored when you have supporters,' Matsubara said. She decided to make the documentary to show the strength of the women who publicly spoke about their tragedy and those who listen to their stories. The director asked Shinobu Otake, who has appeared in many films, television shows and theater productions that deal with the theme of peace, to serve as the narrator. The actress immediately accepted the offer. 'Inspired by what the women told them, everyone started searching for what they could do, including making this film' Matsubara said. 'I hope each audience member will also become one of the collaborators to convey their legacy.' The 99-minute film is currently showing nationwide.
South China Morning Post
11-02-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Salami-slicing' at sea? Chinese buoys test Japan's patience
Published: 10:30am, 11 Feb 2025 Chinese buoys discovered in waters claimed by Japan are being used to quietly chip away at the country's sovereignty, according to a Japanese lawmaker, who has lambasted Tokyo's muted response to what he calls China's 'salami-slicing tactics'. Jin Matsubara, an independent member of parliament and former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, has demanded that Tokyo take a harder stance against the buoys, which have been detected close to the disputed Diaoyu Islands and near Yonaguni , the closest Japanese island to Taiwan . In scathing remarks, Matsubara accused the Japanese government of failing to counter Beijing's calculated encroachments, warning in a written submission to the Diet on January 27 that many citizens were 'outraged' about 'sending the wrong message to Beijing'. The controversy centres on buoys deployed by China near the Diaoyus, which Tokyo administers and calls the Senkakus, and another near Yonaguni island within Japan's exclusive economic zone that was discovered as recently as December. A Chinese maritime surveillance vessel passes near the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan administers and calls the Senkakus, in 2013. Photo: Kyodo Japan has formally requested the removal of the devices, but Beijing, citing 'meteorological purposes', has refused to comply. At a December 27 press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that the buoy found off Yonaguni was 'legal' and rejected Japan's request for its removal.
