http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12756824
Ok, to sum it up, US soldiers rape women in Japan and Japan (and apparently several other nations) does nothing to stop it or punish the man. You know, I hear a lot of things like this concerning US soldiers being less than honorable and I often wonder, does this happen with other countries? It's kind of difficult to say since the US is the current powerhouse of the world and yeah, I do not know. But really, like, US soldiers seem to cause a lot of problems. For example
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb137/is_/ai_n29136558
"While many women began to flock to the sex trade during the 1960s as a conscious decision to support their families, it was not until the influx of US soldiers during the Vietnam War that the trafficking trade developed to meet the demand, and traffickers began to kidnap women and children and forced them into the industry."
Really, like something needs to be done but of course, Japan is in kind of in a difficult situation. It needs US support because Japan is pretty rude/hostile to neigboring nations and the other nations are hostile to them as well and what with N. Korea and A-bombs, they need US help even more. I think that the US really needs to notice these sorts of things and put a stop to them especially with soldiers. And furthermore, is this sort of thing happening in the Middle East with US soldiers there? After all, there are plently of poor, desperate women there in need of money so is this happening there as well?
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13 comments:
http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12570595
This is just an example, in case you are wondering of how Japan is towards its neighbors
On the bright side, Japan is one of the U.S.'s closest allies, despite all the differences we've had through WWII.
The first article link... well that sucks. It really does. I feel really bad for her. The one issue that I have with that article is that it seems too un-objective and it felt more like reading a horror story than a regular news story.
"Jane is an attractive, blonde 40-something Australian...Jane is not her real name." Ok.
"When Jane talks to reporters, she wears stylish, bug-eyed, mirrored sunglasses that seem more shields than fashion statement." OK.
Some things make me doubt the objectivity of some stories and sentences like that just completely throw me off.
Actually, when I re-read it, It really feels sort of like a conspiracy theory...
But whatever. I feel bad for that woman. :(
As for Japan, well I don't think they really need us. Second largest economy, a leader in technology, member of the UN, steadily strengthening relations with China... they're pretty set. Japan's great. (The one place I'd go if I were to live in another nation =D)
An influx of soldiers from any nation, not just the U.S., would probably produce that result. Though we shouldn't blame the soldiers. They're patriots who are were willing to fight for our country. Just blame those few messed up individuals...
It's unfortunate but true. U.S. involvement in Vietnam solidified what already had a deep-rooted infrastructure. But this is truly horrible. I can't see how the U.S. would be able to do anything but I agree that something ought to be done.
Not really surprising. Laws and History are written by the victors. Plus corruption is everywhere and so don't expect everything to be fair. Also raping has been going on in the aftermath of warfare for centuries, not that much different here, cept omg she's an australian in Japan.
Wow i mean im not surprised concidering it is war behavior to do this stuff since they are pretty deprived of all their needs but that is appauling concidering we are supposed to promote the goodness of our country and fight for our country. Although we arent in a war with Japan any more your right we do have to wonder what is actually going on in the middle east. I know standards have changed and this kind of behavior is more vietnam and WW2 but i dont know its pretty hard to supervise thousands of troops in a giant like desert.
I'll just reiterate, that is disturvbing and sadly unsurprising. In addition, we have to be aware of the difference between rape and prostitution, because you mention both in the article, and they are very different crimes, obviously. But I digress. I agree that it's probably a tough situation for Japan because they most likely would like to avoid angering the US people and government. This, and I'm sure a number of other reasons are why Japan is reacting less that favorably to these events.
wow...poor woman. Its horrifying to know that policemen, who are supposed to enforce the law are commiting such acts. If people can't look to them for help, then who can we trust. Considering that the US is supposed to be a role model, its disturbing that some of our own soldiers in the middle east are committing similar offensive acts.
It is really disturbing to know that our own soldiers,who are supposed to be the protectors of freedom and rights of people, are the ones who cause trouble. This is just a perfect example of power being abused. Since the US is a superpower, some soldiers actually think that they could commit a crime in a foreign country and get away with it.
This needs to stop. Other countries need to step up and take action, as shown in this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/nov/04/usa.philippines
Frankly, I'm not surprised. Has anyone read "Memiors of a Geshia"? (if not, I totally reccommend it) US soliders do rape women in Japan and I'm pretty sure that they do it in Iraq or the Middle East too. I think I read somewhere about US soliders coming into a home and raping the women and then either killing the families or just leaving them there to suffer. It's really quite tragic. But what can we do about it? It is true that just because they are fighting for our country, but then again it does not give them the right to act inhumane towards innocent citizens. I think this topic could be debated endlessly.
True, it is terrible to see U.S. soldiers preforming this way, expecially in countries we are not at war with. There is no excuse under any circumstances for troops to be acting that way. But in response to the statement refering to our soldiers causing a lot of probelms (maybe more than others) is beacuse you dont hear anything about any other troops around the world. For instance if Venezulan or Danish troops had did this you most likely wouldnt have herd about it. When any country is on top, thats the one that your goign to hear the most about.
It is sad to be informed that our own soldiers are acting and treating the women that way. But in a sense, we should know that as Americans, anything can happen. Considering the fact of sexual harrasment and corruption, we should take some action to portray a better image of our country.
As Jesse had suggested, maybe we should considering supporting and assisting other foreign countries in their desperate need of healthcare and wealth, base on our their current issue with poverty. It would help in having a better image for our nation as Americans.
Jeff Yeh was right--it kind of feels like a horror story. As for trafficking in women, I think it's horrible and should be stopped immediately. But, this is easier said than done, of course.
Well i am not really surprised of this action, but i am impressed that it came to the surface. Let's remember Abu Ghraib, and the pictures that have been published. Anyone can look at them I am personally ashamed of this action. This is not new, how can we continue like this. This is America, we are suppose to be the role model for other nation, but we just show poor behavior
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