• Interview with the New President of the Asian Women's Fund, Mr. Tomiichi Murayama
• Report on the Activities of the Asian Women's Fund, Five Years After Its Establishment
• Project Implementation, by Country and Region
• Project to Learn from History
• Addressing Problems Faced by Women Today
• Future Goals of the Asian Women's Fund

Project to Learn from History

The project to learn from history is considered to be an essential element within the AWF's projects of atonement.

The project consists of three components:

1. The AWF collates data from books and journals relating to the comfort women. In September 1997, it published “Ianfu” Kankei Bunken Mokuroku, (List of Documents Relating to “Comfort Women”). This list was later placed in a database and made available through the AWF's website (http://www.awf.or.jp).
    

2. The AWF has published photoengraved printed versions of comfort-women-related materials obtained during investigations conducted by the Japanese Government. The 5-volume work, entitled Seifu Chousa “Jugun Ianfu” Kankei Shiryo Shusei (Compilation of Government-collected Documentary Materials Relating to Wartime “Comfort Women”), was published between March and July 1997.
    

3. The AWF also established the Committee for Historical Materials on “Comfort Women.” During travel and research in 1996, 1997 and 1998, committee members studied the “Diary of Department of the Army” written by Setsuzo Kanehara held by the National Institute for Defense Studies, documents in the possession of the Okinawa Prefectural Government, and materials at government archives in the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany and Taiwan. During the same period, committee members also conducted interviews in Indonesia and Micronesia. The results of these investigations were included in the AWF's publication, “Ianfu” Mondai Chousa Hokoku 1999 (Collection of Reports of Investigations into Documents Relating to “Comfort Women”, 1999, published in February 1999).

Violence against women and the violation of their human rights are two problems that are as prevalent as before in many parts of the world. Building on Japan's remorse for the past, the Asian Women's Fund is actively involved in efforts to resolve these problems, working for their elimination in society through a variety of projects.

To promote efforts to eliminate domestic violence, the trafficking of human beings, the commercial exploitation of women, the violation of women's rights during armed conflict, and the judicial maltreatment of women, over the last five years the AWF has worked with experts and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Japan and abroad, and has organized international conferences and promoted research, investigations and training sessions in cooperation with local governments, the United Nations, and other international organizations.

To ensure that these numerous activities produce positive results, the AWF issues reports, and produces videos to be used for educational and public awareness campaigns conducted by citizens' groups, local governments and groups of women. The AWF also organizes study sessions with a view to raising the potential of providing aid and relief for women who are victims and currently facing problems.

AWF projects for the dignity of women place importance on understanding and addressing problems by looking at the issues through the victims' own eyes. When we first launched such projects, some NGO representatives could not understand why the AWF was involved, but I believe that after five years of our activities, they are steadily coming to accept our role and the significance of our efforts.

With the willingness of the Government and people of Japan to cooperate, the Asian Women's Fund has promoted two types of projects – projects expressing the feelings of atonement all Japanese have toward the former comfort women, and projects addressing problems faced by women today. The AWF hopes that these projects are contributing to the restoration of the honor of former comfort women, and that our efforts will be of some assistance to all women who have been victimized, helping them become self-reliant. The AWF also wants to do what it can so that all those who receive support under our projects of atonement will be accepted without discrimination in society.

AWF projects addressing problems faced by women today have enjoyed the support of many researchers, local governments, media organizations, governments, international organizations and NGOs, and we hope that we can work even closer with such organizations and groups in the future.

The AWF's projects of atonement have still not been completed. We request in all sincerity even greater understanding from the victims, relevant governments and political authorities, and people in general. And we hope that, in places where our projects have been suspended, we will be able to recommence them after obtaining the understanding of governments and relevant associations.