Monday, September 7, 2015: Historical Memory

"Comfort Women" Memorial

Taking the podium, Kathy Masaoka, a Japanese-American, speaks in support of the installation of the statue of a “comfort woman” at a ceremony to unveil the monument in Glendale, California, on July 30. (Erika Toh)

We look at the controversy over plans to build a memorial to Asian women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military in World War II. Monuments to the "comfort women" have been approved in Glendale, California, Long Island, New York, and a number of other cities around the world.  But some feminists say the memorials unfairly single out Japan and promote racism against an already traumatized community: Japanese Americans. Japanese American activist Kathy Masaoka talks with Preeti Shekar about why her group, Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress, supports the memorials.

Read Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress statement about the monument to Comfort Women at http://www.ncrr-la.org/news/comfortwomenmonument/comfortwomenmonument.html.


Click here to listen now. 59:50 min.

Also on today's show:
Community Solidarity