Harvard President: "'Comfort Women = Prostitutes' Claim Is Academic Freedom, No Problem"

Photo by Cyber Diplomatic Mission 'VANK' Instagram post capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Amid controversy over a paper by John Mark Ramseyer, a professor at Harvard Law School, who claimed that the victims of the Japanese military's comfort women system were prostitutes, the president of Harvard University in the United States reportedly stated that the paper falls under 'academic freedom' and therefore is not problematic.

The cyber diplomatic mission 'VANK' revealed on the 17th that Lawrence Bacow, president of Harvard University, responded in this way to protest emails demanding the withdrawal of Ramseyer's paper and condemnation at the university level.

President Lawrence Bacow said, "The expression of controversial views by Professor Ramseyer within the university is also included in academic freedom. This applies even when controversial views cause discomfort to the majority of our society," adding, "Professor Ramseyer's claims are stated as his personal opinions."

In response, Ban Ki-tae, head of VANK, pointedly asked, "Can research that defends black slavery or supports German Nazis also be protected under academic freedom?" VANK announced plans to resend a protest letter along with a list of over 10,600 people from 96 countries who supported the petition requesting the withdrawal of Ramseyer's paper.

John Mark Ramseyer, Professor at Harvard Law School. Photo by Harvard Law School (public video capture).

Earlier, on the 1st, the Japanese Sankei Shimbun reported that Ramseyer's paper, which defined the victims of the Japanese military's comfort women system as 'prostitutes,' was scheduled to be published in an academic journal. The paper is set to be published next month in the international academic journal International Review of Law and Economics under the title "Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War."

In the paper, Professor Ramseyer argued that both Korean and Japanese comfort women were officially recognized prostitutes and were not 'sex slaves' who were kidnapped and forced into prostitution by Japan.

He further stated that the problem lay with Korean recruiters who deceived women into working in prostitution facilities over several decades, explaining that neither the Japanese government nor the Governor-General of Korea forced women into prostitution, nor did the Japanese military cooperate with corrupt recruiters, which sparked controversy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.