ABSTRACT
The Second World War brought to humankind destruction and genocide on an unprecedented scale in which vast numbers of women were made victims of sexual violence. The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal is a people's tribunal with several main objectives. Japan's military sexual slavery before and during the Second World War was one of the most horrendous forms of wartime sexual violence against women known in this century. In addition to the testimonies of survivors, several expert witnesses gave academic testimony: Japanese scholars explained the structure of the Japanese military forces, the emperor's responsibility, the comfort women system in general, and Japanese comfort women. In addition to racism and militarism, the composition of military trials immediately after the war was gender biased: judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers were almost all men. The prosecution of individuals is especially important, because in Japanese society, individuals tend to hide behind the state, the company, or any other organization.
