The State as Pimp: Prostitution and the Patriarchal State in Japan in the 1940s

Abstract

This article explores the state organization of prostitution in Japan in the 1940s. The Japanese military and the colonial government in Korea created “comfort divisions” (iantai) for Japanese soldiers during World War II. Furthermore, one of the first postwar acts of the Japanese state was to resuscitate “comfort divisions” as the Recreation and Amusement Association (RAA) for the U.S. occupation forces. In narrating state actions and organizations, I analyze the political-economic and ideological underpinnings that enabled the state to act as pimp.