(ECNS) -- Another victim of the Japanese military's wartime "comfort women" system passed away at 96 in Huarong County, Hunan Province, on Wednesday, reducing the total number of victims in the Chinese mainland to seven, according to the Research Center for Chinese Comfort Women at Shanghai Normal University.
Born in Huarong in 1930, the victim, whose pseudonym is Grandma Xiaorui, was tragically captured by Japanese troops during their occupation of the county on March 10, 1943. The abducted women, including Xiaorui, who was only 13 years old then, were confined in local outposts to be sexual slaves. This horrific experience left deep physical and psychological scars on Grandma Xiaorui.
For over 70 years, she had been keeping this secret. In 2021, local volunteers uncovered her story accidentally during an investigation into other victims' information.
With the support and company of her family, the old woman shared her traumatic experiences with researchers from the Hunan investigation team of the research center on May 20 of the same year.
Based on Grandma Xiaorui's testimony, the research team visited the locations where she was captured and abused. The center eventually confirmed her as a surviving victim of the Japanese military's "comfort women" system.
According to her family, she lived peacefully in her later years, but still waited for an apology or compensation from Japan.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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