Is This Lawsuit Seeking To Remove Public Art Misguided Or Evil? Why Choose?
The Japanese did awful things in World War II that went above and beyond wartime fun, including mass rape and and forced prostitution. Japanese rightwingers does not like to be reminded of this, so some terrible people are suing Glendale, California, for having the gall to erect a memorial to "comfort women" -- the women enslaved by the Japanese as prostitutes for the military. Wait what??
First, a little back story. Back in 1993, the Japanese government fucking finally apologized to comfort women and acknowledged that its colonial rule had been particularly oppressive. We'd actually kick that up several notches and call it insanely brutal, and if you do not agree, just go read The Rape Of Nanking and get back to us. Anyway, so there was an apology, but ever since, some right-wing Japanese officials have been all like naw mang Nanking never happened and the whole comfort women thing was NBD. Because of this, some Japanese politicians and Japanese-Americans are none too happy that Glendale decided to put up a memorial honoring the comfort women and have taken a true blue American route to get the thing gone: suing the pants off the city.
Very barristerial!
Apparently the research and writing of her book took such a toll on her that she want into a deep clinical depression that ended with her taking her own life.