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Comfort Women were those providing sexual services for the Japanese military who were away from home during the Japan-China war and World War II, a period from 1932 to 1945. Despite this definition found on the first page of this book, questions remain as to what the woman actually were.
The author, a Harvard-trained Ph.D. and President of the Global Alliance for Historical Truth, argues for an alternative view and unabashedly tells the reader that he wrote the book to educate people in the United States. He does so by presenting Exhibits consisting of documents from both the United States and Japan, newspaper articles and interviews of various sources. It should be noted that Dr. Mera cites sources which are both supportive and not supportive of his position.
For example, on more than one occasion he cites different US Government reports, which come to different conclusions on the same issue. One report, US Army report number 49, is based upon the conditions under which the comfort woman lived and worked, their relations with and reactions to Japanese soldiers, and their understanding of the military situation. It concludes that the comfort woman were nothing more than prostitutes or professional camp followers attached to the Japanese army for the benefit of the soldiers. Another report by the US military presents a different picture, stating that the women were well-paid, spent leisure time, were free to decline any unwanted customers, enjoyed shopping of pricey goods, and had pleasurable parties and games with soldiers. Some women even married soldiers. Hardly the picture of the life of a sex slave.
The book is full of documented information. It is well written and well researched. Some readers will come away with much to think about on the issue of whether the comfort women were sex slaves or prostitutes taking advantage of the situation at hand.