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Excerpt from True Stories of the Korean Comfort Women
Published In True Stories of the Korean Comfort Women, 1995
Edited by Keith Howard

Germany and Japan fought on the same side during World War II (1939-45), an alliance known as the Axis nations. They did little to coordinate their efforts, but their leaders shared a desire to rule the world and a brutal disregard of human rights. Japan, a nation lacking in natural resources, wanted to conquer eastern Asia and the Pacific islands, and it very nearly succeeded in doing so.

In 1931, ten years before Japanese planes launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which brought the United States into World War II against Japan and Germany, Japan annexed Manchuria in northern China. During the 1930s, the Japanese tightened their grip on China, and by 1941, they were prepared to extend their rule over much...