Uemura Takashi (former Asahi reporter)’s Lectures in the U.S.

Tomomi Yamaguchi's picture

Uemura Takashi, a former reporter of the Asahi Shimbun, is currently an adjunct lecturer at Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo. In 1991 he wrote two articles on the first “comfort woman” to come forward, Ms. Kim Hak-sun. He has been criticized as a "reporter who initiated the comfort woman issue,” and a “reporter who fabricated his articles.” With all the bashing against the Asahi since August 2014, intense attacks against Uemura and his family, as well as his employer, Hokusei Gakuen University, became a major social issue in Japan.  

This year, he filed libel suits at Tokyo District Court in January and Sapporo District Court in February.  

Uemura is visiting the U.S. from late April to early May to give lectures at various college campuses in the U.S. This will be a precious opportunity for those of us in the US to listen to his stories first-hand. 

Below is the schedule for his public talks.

For more information on what has been happening to Uemura Takashi’s, please see the articles below.

Martin Fackler “Rewriting the War, Japanese Right Attacks the Newspaper.”  The New York Times, Dec 2, 2014. 

Uemura Takashi (translation by Norma Field), “Journalist who broke comfort woman story files 16.5 million yen libel suit against Bungei Shunju: Uemura Takashi’s speech to the press. The Asia Pacific Journal, Jan 14, 2015. 

Uemura Takashi (translation by Tomomi Yamaguchi), “Labeled ‘the reporter who fabricated’ the comfort woman issue, The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue 2, No. 1, January 12, 2015. 

Schedule

May 1 (Friday) –Milwaukee

9:00-3:30, Marquette University, 2015 Center for Transnational Justice Workshop
“Integrity of Memory: “Comfort Women” in Focus”
Location: Alumni Memorial Union, Rm 163
Organized by Eunah Lee (Marquette University)

10:40-11:30 Keynote Address by Uemura Takashi
“Reporting on the “Comfort Women”: The Experiences of a Journalist Now Fighting a Backlash”
With Interpretation by Norma Field (University of Chicago)

May 4  (Monday) – New York

16:00-18:00, Public lecture at NYU (co-hosted by NYU and Columbia)
Location: 19 University Place, the first floor conference room, “The Great Room”
Organized by Tom Looser (NYU)

Introduction by Carol Gluck (Columbia University)
Uemura Takashi, “Reporting on the “Comfort Women”: The Experiences of a Journalist Now Fighting a Backlash”
Commentary by Yukiko Hanawa (NYU) and discussion with the audience

May 5 (Tuesday) - Princeton

12:00-  Limited to the Princeton University Community, RSVP required.
Organized by David Leheny (Princeton University)
Uemura Takashi, “Scenes from a Japanese Backlash: The Experiences of a Former Journalist Reporting on the ‘Comfort Women’”

May 8 (Friday) – Los Angeles

17:30-19:00 Public lecture at UCLA
Location: Bunche Hall 10383, UCLA
Organized by Katsuya Hirao (UCLA)

Uemura Takashi, “Reporting on the “Comfort Women”: The Experiences of a Journalist Now Fighting a Backlash”
With Introduction and Interpretation by Katsuya Hirano (UCLA)