Osaka mayor apologizes for brothel comments

[Talon87]

The BBC reports.

Honestly, I'm surprised the backlash wasn't greater from within Japan than from without. He's suggesting the formation of legalized, controlled sex services on the island for the purpose of helping the U.S. servicemen get their rocks off. Wouldn't the understanding be that these women would be Japanese (or even more specifically Okinawan)? Wouldn't that be like venom to Okinawans' ears, to be told they should offer up some of their daughters freely for the sexual release of their American overlords if they don't want others of their daughters to be the victims of random rapes? Don't get me wrong: I understand why the international community (and in particular Japan's neighbors) got upset with his comments about comfort women serving a necessary role during WW2. But I'm just saying: I'm surprised that the backlash wasn't even more pronounced from within Japan, that things even made it to the international stage to begin with, that he wasn't grilled by the electorate before the Chinese and Koreans even got a whiff of it.

[Loki]

Uh.... I think you got it slightly wrong.

As a Chinese person, I heard his comments a few days (maybe a week) back already on Chinese news. Basically he compared the the case of US Troops raping the Japanese woman to Japanese soldier's using "comfort women" during their occupation of the various areas of Asia. He said that Japan got all this heartache over those rapes yet the US is getting almost nothing when the Japanese woman was raped. His comments about brothels is basically, "You can get non-rape sex there."

He isn't talking about forming brothels to appease American troops. He's saying they should just use brothels as opposed to raping women.

The big controversy though was bringing up "comfort women" examples from WW2. They kind of want to forget that as much as the Germans want to forget Nazis.

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by Raptor Jesus

He isn't talking about forming brothels to appease American troops. He's saying they should just use brothels as opposed to raping women.

Even if the brothels already exist (which I didn't appreciate the first time I read the story), I'm still surprised he's not getting more flak from inside the country, given that he's effectively saying "We should offer them some of our women to ensure that they don't take others of our women" and given the growing resentment of the U.S. military occupation of Japan, in particular that of Okinawa.

Originally Posted by Raptor Jesus

He said that Japan got all this heartache over those rapes yet the US is getting almost nothing when the Japanese woman was raped. His comments about brothels is basically, "You can get non-rape sex there."

I didn't catch any whiff of that in the article, so your intel's appreciated. It does change the context of his words considerably, if this is in fact something he said.

[Loki]

Brothels are everywhere man. Even if its illegal.

[Talon87]

Right, but the article suggested that he said legal brothels, so I assumed he was proposing a legislative change or some such. Brothels proper aren't legal in Japan, though they do have "health spas" and "soaplands" and such, and plenty of cabarets.

Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia article on prostitution in Japan now mentions this guy's remarks:

In 2013, Toru Hashimoto, co-leads the Japan Restoration Party proposed “There are places where people can legally release their sexual energy in Japan,” and “Unless they make use of these facilities, it will be difficult to control the sexual energies of the wild Marines.”[14] However, U.S. Department of State criticized remarks of Hashimoto.[15]

So it appears that he wasn't talking about brothels proper int he first place, but just the legal sex industry which exists in Japan and has existed ever since prostitution proper was illegalized.