Justice for World War II victims of mass rape committed by Japanese soldiers

This petition is an Appeal to the House of Councilors of the Japanese Parliament Regarding the Victims of Mass Rape by the Japanese Soldiers in Mapanique, Candaba, Pampanga in the Philippines.

We are the members of Malaya Lolas, the organization of surviving victims of mass rape by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army in Mapanique, Candaba, Pampanga in the Philippines. Our harrowing experience happened as part of a completely planned attack at our barrio (village) on November 23, 1944.

Presently, we are 61 old and sickly women as the rest of about a hundred of us have already died. We are in the twilight of our years and it pains to die without seeing justice.

We are aware that for several times, some councilors had sponsored a bill asking the Japanese government to take historical responsibility, to apologize publicly for the comfort women system as a war crime; to mention this in Japan’s history books; and to compensate the victims.

Although that bill did not cover our case, we are dismayed nonetheless that the House of Councilors never passed that bill into law.

We understand that Japan’s definition of comfort women exclude us from being considered as such. We cannot argue with Japan’s historical and social circumstances that defined what a comfort woman is. But we would like to tell the Honorable members of the House that our sufferings were not any degree lighter simply because the Japanese soldiers did not bring us to brothels.

We experienced unspeakable horror and terror. Before the soldiers raped us, we witnessed how they grabbed and tortured our fathers, grandfathers, uncles and brothers. We saw how they battered those male relatives, tied them to posts and trees for the ants to bite before they cut off their penises and stuffed the same in their mouths. We cannot forget the sight of our burning houses and belongings and the smell of burning flesh and bones, which were our relatives’. They made us carry our belongings they looted and then they raped us, some in full view of the others, most of us, repeatedly.

To further explain what happened, we have attached here the part of the decision of the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal of December 2000.

We believe that like those classified as comfort women, we also deserve justice

We therefore appeal to the concerned members of the House of Councilors to enact a law that will give justice for all victims of sexual violence of the Japanese Imperial Army.
Malaya Lolas
Through Representatives:

(SGD) Isabelita C. Vinuya
Malaya Lolas President

(SGD) Perla Balingit
Malaya Lolas Secretary

August 14, 2008