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Since the ancient times societies have been involved in battles and wars which reinforce patriarchal views of the world. Rarely has a war been fought where the soldiers have not used native women of the country they are invading sexually. It has been observed that wherever armies go there follows sexual commerce along with rape, sexual abuse, and prostitution. As the Roman Empire expanded to encompass the known world, (enslaved) prostitutes followed the Roman legions. During World War II the Japanese military was involved in the trafficking of Asian women. These women were called comfort women they often times were very young females of various ethnic backgrounds and social circumstances. Comfort women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army. It is estimated that between 80,00 and 200,000 women were forced to serve as comfort women. The majority of these women were Korean, but Japanese women and women of other occupied territories (Taiwan, Indonesia, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines, and Burma) were also used to enhance the morale of the military by providing facilities for recreational sex. The Japanese authorities justify their actions by saying that such facilities would help soldiers from committing random sexual violence toward women of occupied territories. Also that they were concerned with the health of their soldiers and this way they could have sex with women in good hygienic conditions; this way no sexually transmitted diseases would enable them to do their job. This is similar to what has been going on for years with the US military. While there is no trafficking of women comfort women are still in existence. In the 1950's sex tourism flourished in Asian countries, this was mainly because of the presence of the US military. Korea, for example, saw the American troops as means of economic gain. They failed to realize that it would be at the expense of Korean women.