Ianfu, The Dark and Forgotten History of Japanese Sex Slaves

SUKARNO was in Padang when the Japanese arrived. He had just been moved by the Dutch from exile in Ende to Bengkulu, then by road to Padang. The Dutch were going to evacuate Sukarno to Australia but the Japanese had already taken control of Sumatra. In Padang, he frequently met Japanese army commanders who asked him to cooperate.

Japan demanded the people to lower the red-and-white flag and provide rice. With his influence, Sukarno was able to meet all those requests. However, there was one complicated issue regarding their request to satisfy the sexual needs of Japanese soldiers. Sukarno, as revealed in Penyambung Lidah Rakyat Indonesia (English title: Sukarno: An Autobiography as Told to Cindy Adams), warned Colonel Fujiyama, commander of the occupation army in Bukittinggi: "If your men try to do anything with our girls, people will revolt. You will face a major uprising in Sumatra."

Sukarno couldn't let the Japanese army mess around with Minang girls, but he was also aware of the action the Japanese would take if the problem wasn't solved. After asking the kiai's (Islamic religious leader) opinion, Sukarno decided to use prostitutes so that "those foreigners can satisfy their hearts and will not turn their heads to bother our girls." 

"I gathered 120 women in one remote area and put them in a camp surrounded by a high fence. Each soldier was given a card with a condition that they could only visit the place once a week. On each visit the card is punched through." Sukarno reasoned that the situation was so grave at that time, and it could lead to a great disaster.

Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung, king of Gianyar in Bali, also faced the same issue when Kawashima, the Kempeitai commander, asked him to recruit comfort women. After discussions with his subordinates, he finally got the solution. "I'm willing to reward them with a considerable amount of money if they're willing to entertain the Japanese soldiers," Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung wrote in Kenangan Masa Lampau (Memories of the Past).

Could it be that Sukarno or the other political leaders in Indonesia did not know that tens of thousands of "innocent" young girls had to satisfy the sexual desires of the Japanese soldiers yet a great disaster still occurred?

Sukarno himself was aware of the accusations that would be directed at him for cooperating with Japan. Sutan Sjahrir and the youth group called him a collaborator. Iwa Kusumasumantri also regretted Sukarno's actions, although he understood that the situation back then was exceptionally precarious and complicated.

"Romusha, the imposition of a new way of life with improper food, the sending of our young women as entertainment for Japanese soldiers, all of this wouldn't have happened if only those who were close to Japan like Sukarno could act decisively," Iwa Kusumasumantari wrote in his autobiography Sang Pejuang dalam Gejolak Sejarah (The Fighter Amidst History’s Fluctuations). "All these tragedies that really pierced the honor of our nation could have been prevented, if they had known the wise way to prevent them." 

"Don't accept information from political people uncritically," said Koichi Kimura. "It is impossible for prostitutes to be brought into the Japanese military. Because the Japanese military had a plan and decision before colonizing Indonesia, which was to prepare 'clean' women, not 'women with venereal diseases’ because most women in brothels in Indonesia had diseases."

"The Japanese military established many ianjo (ianfu houses) where many women were forcefully brought to and were checked by Japanese military doctors.  Sukarno didn't know and never firsthand saw the women who were gathered."

Devious Traps

In March 1942, the Japanese Army Headquarters in the South Pacific, based in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, decided to establish entertainment places in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region. They asked the Taiwan Army Headquarters to obtain ianfu and send them to Borneo (Kalimantan). Seventy ianfu from Taiwan subsequently arrived in Borneo equipped with military travel documents from the Ministry of War. However, Allied attacks that made sea and air links difficult meant that Japan could no longer bring in ianfu from Japan, China, and Korea. Instead, Indonesian young girls were sent to the front lines as ianfu. Ianjo were then established in a number of regions.

To carry out its plan, the Japanese military lured the Indonesian women by giving false promises that they would be given a chance to study in Tokyo or Shonanto (Singapore) or be given decent jobs. These promises spread from one person to another, starting from Sendenbu (Propaganda Committee) and then down to local officials such as regents, sub-district heads, village heads, and to tonarigumi (neighborhood associations). These local officials then gathered dozens of young women. Rumini, former ianfu from Tulungagung, East Java, was one of them.

Rumini's father was a farmer. A few months after the Japanese arrived, her village head gathered the people. Apparently, he received an order from the Japanese to gather unmarried girls to learn Japanese language and dance in the sub-district. However, what Rumini and the other girls experienced was different. She was put into an ianjo and had to serve Japanese soldiers. "Everyone was powerless to refuse because they feared the consequences that would befall them in the future," said Rumini.

In Indonesia, ianfu were spread throughout all regions in Indonesia. Where there were military barracks, there were ianfu, especially in the eastern region.

The local officials had to set an 'example' by giving up their daughters for the safety of their position or rank. They were unable to resist the demands of the Japanese soldiers. Sri Sukanti from Gundi village, for example. Although her father was a wedana (district head), he couldn't do anything when the Japanese soldiers came to take her and put her in the Papak Building in Purwodadi. Because she was beautiful, unlike her friends who were forced to serve dozens of low-ranking soldiers, Sri was specifically chosen to serve Ogawa, the local commander. "I was forced to serve him. I was treated like a horse. At that time, I wanted to die. I wasn't a human anymore," said Sri, choked.

Fulfilling the need for women was also done through job advertisements. Hearing that there were vacancies for female servants, waitresses and restaurant cooks, as well as show performers, 13-year-old Mardiyem decided to apply, because she had been dreaming of becoming a singer. Once in Banjarmasin, however, her life took a different turn. Mardiyem, along with 23 other women, had to become sex slaves of Japanese soldiers and civilians. Mardiyem, who later on became a fervent justice advocate for former ianfu, passed away in December 2007 at the age of 79.

Eka Hindra, an ianfu researcher, believes that ianfu became part of Japan's control mechanism for the benefit of its troops in winning the Pacific War. This means that further research is needed to uncover what actually happened in Indonesia and the attitude of the leaders at that time. "In Indonesia, ianfu were spread throughout all regions in Indonesia. Where there were military barracks, there were ianfu, especially in the eastern region," Eka said.

The Absence of Support

After Japan lost the war, ianfu were freed. However, they were given no severance pay, no facilities, and no gratitude at all from the Dai Nippon army. They practically had to rely on their life instincts to survive. Some women returned to their hometowns, while some were stranded on Buru Island.

News about the fate of ianfu was very much present in media coverage. Penjoeloeh, June 25, 1945, quoting foreign news, wrote about the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers. The news quoted Dr. Ou Kok Boo, a Chinese doctor, who along with a nurse, Miss Yolanda Seah, had just been liberated on Labuan Island. "Rape committed by Japan to women was a constant occurrence and this could only be stopped after Japanese military officials came with Indonesian girls from Java," he said, as quoted by Penjoeloeh.

In Kupang, 56 ianfu from Java were found living in a camp in Atambua. "The girls were transported from Java with the agreement that they would be employed in Japanese hospitals," wrote Penjoeloeh, September 20, 1945. Australian troops rescued them and repatriated them to Java. The Australian War Memorial has many photographic documents about the life of ianfu in Kupang.

Ianfu weren't only housed in Indonesian territory, but also in Singapore. Sin Po, November 14, 1946, reported that the Indonesian Red Cross found more than 200 Indonesian girls who were tricked by the Japanese and were sent to Singapore. "A widespread movement carried out by Japanese officials in Java and Sumatra in 1943 to obtain 'comfort girls' has ended with the arrival of a large number of Indonesian girls to Singapore," Sin Po wrote.

Divided into three groups, they were brought to Singapore with the promise of becoming nurses with large salaries and good food and clothing. The first group, consisting of 89 girls from Jakarta and Sarawak, was found in Kuching. The second group of 80 was sent from Surabaya to Jakarta before being sent to Singapore. After a month, they were sent to Labuan (North Borneo), but some of them died on the way because their ship sank. The third group was sent to Singapore and housed in a large house in Katong.

"The Indonesian Red Cross has been searching for them since six months ago and as a result, more than 150 girls have been found in North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore," Sin Po wrote.

Stories like these also circulated on the radio. On the evening of Sunday, January 4, 1947, Welfare Indonesia - the soldiers' entertainment agency led by R.M. Tjiptorachman, held a tonil (theater show) performance in Stadsschouwburg Djakarta (now the Jakarta Art Building) for KNIL and KL (the Royal Netherlands Army) soldiers. This tonil presented "a story that happened before" entitled Djiwa nan Sesat about the life of the youth who were trapped by the Japanese through trickery to defend the independence of the country. They, educated men and women, were lured by the opportunity to study in Tokyo. Instead, they were all transported to the battlefields of Biak, Morotai, Tarakan, Balikpapan, and others. In Java, the youth were placed at the front lines to pull carts or cannons and carry gunpowder like donkeys.

"The same applies to our young girls. At first they were told they'd be employed as nurses or midwives in the land across, but in the end they were used to 'console' Si Kerdil (the Dwarfs)," Pandji Ra'yat wrote on January 7, 1947.

Although several media reported the story of ianfu, the Indonesian government never questioned it. In negotiations with Japan regarding war reparations as a follow-up to the 1951 San Francisco Agreement, the government didn't mention the ianfu issue, while romusha was mentioned. Regarding romusha, in “Garis Besar Tuntutan Pampasan Indonesia Terhadap Jepang” (Outline of Indonesia's Compensation Demands to Japan) which was prepared by the Indonesian government and submitted to the Japanese government by the Djuanda Mission in December 1951, Indonesia demanded the loss of four million romusha. The war reparations negotiation process itself then stalled.

"At that time, Indonesia was busy with political movements and programs, so human rights issues were ignored, even though some Indonesian leaders knew," Kimura said.

According to Pramoedya Ananta Toer in Perawan Remaja dalam Cengkeraman Militer (Young Virgins in the Military’s Grip), there are a number of reasons why the government didn't speak out. First, immediately after Japan surrendered, Indonesia had no authentic material to sue. Second, Indonesia was engaged in an armed struggle to maintain its independence. Thirdly, soon after the restoration of sovereignty, Indonesia, still very young at that time, was involved in prolonged party disputes. Fourth, due to negligence on the part of Indonesia, there was no commission investigating the matter. But when many former ianfu started to speak out, the government's stance remained unclear.

Japan clearly buried their heads in the sand. On the other hand, the Netherlands during their attempt to regain control of Indonesian territory, showed concerns about the fate of ianfu but only in the cases of Dutch women. "The Japanese, Dutch, and Indonesian militaries had discriminatory attitudes against Indonesian women who have been victimized by the Japanese military's ianfu system," said Kimura. 

It is also ironic how ianfu hasn't been included in history lessons until now. Interestingly, unofficial history textbooks have included about ianfu by adopting the 2008 updated edition of history handbook Sejarah Nasional Indonesia (SNI) Jilid VI (Indonesia’s National History, Volume VI). Pressure has been addressed to the Ministry of Education and Culture. In a meeting between Komnas HAM (the National Commission on Human Rights) and a number of government agencies in 2010 to discuss ianfu, the Ministry of Education stated that substantially there was no rejection about the inclusion of ianfu in curriculum and that they would review the matter soon. 

"They promised to include ianfu in the curriculum," said Hesti Armiwulan, commissioner of Komnas HAM and the person in charge of ianfu settlement. "But there is no realization to date."