Documentary on ‘comfort women’ opens in Taiwan ahead of second world war anniversary
Song of the Reed tells the life stories of six women forced into prostitution by the Japanese
A documentary chronicling the lives of six Taiwanese women who survived being forced to provide sex for the Japanese military during the second world war hit Taiwanese cinemas on Friday to coincide with International Memorial Day for Comfort Women.
The 76-minute film, Song of the Reed, was produced by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation.
Foundation executive director Kang Shu-hua said it decided to release the film because it wanted to raise awareness of the issue among the Taiwanese public through life stories told by surviving victims.
She said she hoped the "comfort women", a term for the mainly Asian women who were procured for brothels for the Japanese military before and during the war, could see the Japanese government apologise for crimes committed against them and allow them to receive compensation in their remaining years.
“They will die one day, but their stories will pass on for many generations to come,” Kang said.
Filming began in 2011 and six "comfort women" agreed to share their life stories in front of the camera. Four have since passed away. Now there are only four alive in Taiwan and their average age is about 90.