Wartime enslavement: 'Comfort women' system, forced labor across Asia

Japan's expansionism during World War II was powered by mass enslavement and systematic brutality. Hundreds of thousands of women from China, Korea, the Philippines and beyond were abducted and forced into sexual slavery under the so-called "comfort women" system. There were at least 400,000 victims across Asia, including more than 200,000 in China alone. Survivors recall the beatings, broken bones and lifelong trauma.

Millions more – Asians and Allied prisoners of war (POWs) – were forced into lethal labor under Japan's military machine. From starvation in Japan to the 10,000 deaths during the Bataan Death March in the Philippines, the cruelty was unrelenting. One of the darkest chapters unfolded on the Burma-Siam (Myanmar-Thailand) "Death Railway," built with 62,000 Allied POWs and nearly 200,000 Asian laborers who worked to exhaustion, starvation and death. Survivor testimonies and expert insights expose a vast system of exploitation – one demanding recognition, responsibility and justice.

Some footage in this video is sourced from the documentary "Asia-Pacific War Crimes Trials."