Japan's "comfort station" system in WW2 explained

This video contains references to sexual violence. Viewer discretion is advised. IWM Curator James Bulgin explores the reality of sexual trafficking across the Japanese Empire during the Second World War. This story was explored in Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict, an exhibition at IWM London which closed on 2 November 2025. https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/unsilenced-sexual-violence-in-conflict 00:00 "Comfort Women" 01:41 Expansion of Japan's Empire 02:15 Early Instances of Military Ran Brothels 03:39 The Shanghai Incident 05:06 How Nanking solidified the system 06:25 WW2 expands the trafficking system 10:25 What happened to the women after WW2? 12:16 Modern day response Explore and licence the film clips used in this video: https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/_WAZmym95 Follow IWM on social media: https://x.com/I_W_M https://instagram.com/imperialwarmuseums https://facebook.com/iwm.london https://tiktok.com/@imperialwarmuseums Shinzō Abe 20200101 by Government of Japan from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ KOCIS Korea President Park Eurasia Conference 04, 2013 from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ PSVI DAY ONE - 531 (52531581074) from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ PSVI_DAY_ONE_-_639_(52530826387) from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Kim Hak Sun by MBC PD수첩 from Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Comfort Women, rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, August 2011, by Claire Solery from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Comfort Women, rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, August 2011 (2) by Claire Solery from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Comfort Women, rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, August 2011 (4) by Claire Solery from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ 2012 National Foundation Day Wednesday Demonstration, by Pudmaker from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/