Japan and Reconciliation in Post-war Asia

Japan and Reconciliation in Post-war Asia PDF Author: K. Togo
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137301236
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Book Description
Taking a comparative approach and bringing together perspectives from Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan, this volume considers former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama's 1995 apology statement, the height of Japan's post-war apology, and examines its implications for memory, international relations, and reconciliation in Asia.

Inherited Responsibility and Historical Reconciliation in East Asia

Inherited Responsibility and Historical Reconciliation in East Asia PDF Author: Jun-Hyeok Kwak
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135073058
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 190

Book Description
Contemporary East Asian societies are still struggling with complex legacies of colonialism, war and domination. Years of Japanese imperial occupation followed by the Cold War have entrenched competing historical understandings of responsibility for past crimes in Korea, China, Japan and elsewhere in the region. In this context, even the impressive economic and cultural networks that have developed over the past sixty years have failed to secure peaceful coexistence and overcome lingering attitudes of distrust and misunderstanding in the region. This book examines the challenges of historical reconciliation in East Asia, and, in doing so, calls for a reimagining of how we understand both historical identity and responsibility. It suggests that by adopting a ‘forward-looking’ approach that eschews obsession with the past, in favour of a reflective and deliberative engagement with history, real progress can be made towards peaceful coexistence in East Asia. With chapters that focus on select experiences from East Asia, while simultaneously situating them within a wider comparative perspective, the contributors to this volume focus on the close relationship between reconciliation and ‘inherited responsibility’ and reveal the contested nature of both concepts. Finally, this volume suggests that historical reconciliation is essential for strengthening mutual trust between the states and people of East Asia, and suggests ways in which such divisive legacies of conflict can be overcome. Providing both an overview of the theoretical arguments surrounding reconciliation and inherited responsibility, alongside examples of these concepts from across East Asia, this book will be valuable to students and scholars interested in Asian politics, Asian history and international relations more broadly.

Memory, Identity, and Commemorations of World War II

Memory, Identity, and Commemorations of World War II PDF Author: Daqing Yang
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498567703
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Book Description
Why do some governments and societies attach great significance to a particular anniversary year whereas others seem less inclined to do so? What motivates the orchestration of elaborate commemorative activities in some countries? What are they supposed to accomplish, for both domestic and international audience? In what ways do commemorations in Asia Pacific fit into the global memory culture of war commemoration? In what ways are these commemorations intertwined with current international politics? This book presents the first large-scale analysis of how countries in the Asia Pacific and beyond commemorated the seventieth anniversaries of the end of World War II. Consisting of in-depth case studies of China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, United States, Russia, and Germany, this unique collective effort demonstrates how memories of the past as reflected in public commemorations and contemporary politics—both internal and international—profoundly affect each other.

Contested Memories and Reconciliation Challenges

Contested Memories and Reconciliation Challenges PDF Author: Tatsushi Arai
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781938027451
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 91

Book Description
Seventy years after the end of World War II, the ghost of conflict still haunts international relationships in East Asia. The lack of real postwar reconciliation and effective peacebuilding within the general public between China and Japan is the true cause of the current animosity. As the oftentimes all too emotional discussions over historical guilt continues to rage on in East Asia, this publication is a call for thoughtful analysis of why relations are reaching a boiling point today, and how tensions could be cooled. This publication is, in short, an articulation of deep passion and high hopes from all participants for the four countries to reach a lasting resolution to the ongoing conflict over history in one of the world's most populous and dynamic regions.

Anti-Japan

Anti-Japan PDF Author: Leo T. S. Ching
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 1478003359
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
Although the Japanese empire rapidly dissolved following the end of World War II, the memories, mourning, and trauma of the nation's imperial exploits continue to haunt Korea, China, and Taiwan. In Anti-Japan Leo T. S. Ching traces the complex dynamics that shape persisting negative attitudes toward Japan throughout East Asia. Drawing on a mix of literature, film, testimonies, and popular culture, Ching shows how anti-Japanism stems from the failed efforts at decolonization and reconciliation, the Cold War and the ongoing U.S. military presence, and shifting geopolitical and economic conditions in the region. At the same time, pro-Japan sentiments in Taiwan reveal a Taiwanese desire to recoup that which was lost after the Japanese empire fell. Anti-Japanism, Ching contends, is less about Japan itself than it is about the real and imagined relationships between it and China, Korea, and Taiwan. Advocating for forms of healing that do not depend on state-based diplomacy, Ching suggests that reconciliation requires that Japan acknowledge and take responsibility for its imperial history.

Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific

Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific PDF Author: Yōichi Funabashi
Publisher: US Institute of Peace Press
ISBN: 9781929223473
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
History has left many scars in the Asia-Pacific. Injuries inflicted generations ago are still fresh in the collective memories of the peoples of the region, hobbling efforts to repair relationships between old adversaries. But recently the spirit of reconciliation seems to have acquired new life. From Korea to Japan to China, longtime enemies are trading apologies and looking ahead. In this remarkably timely volume, Yoichi Funabashi, one of Japan's most influential journalists, and seven authors from throughout the Asia-Pacific shine the spotlight on the prospects for reconciliation in the region. Looking at instances of inter-ethnic as well as international strife, this book lays out the background to each case, analyzes the impact of unresolved and sometimes unacknowledged grievances, and weighs the prospects for overcoming the burden of history. Not all the cases inspire optimism, at least in the short term, for bitter memories have burrowed deep into society and are intertwined with issues of political power and ethnic identity. But in some parts of the region, palpable progress toward reconciliation is being made. In his conclusion, Funabashi identifies the key steps that governments and publics must take if they are to come to terms with the past.

East Asia Beyond the History Wars

East Asia Beyond the History Wars PDF Author: Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136192263
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
East Asia is now the world’s economic powerhouse, but ghosts of history continue to trouble relations between the key countries of the region, particularly between Japan, China and the two Koreas. Unhappy legacies of Japan’s military expansion in pre-war Asia prompt on-going calls for apologies, while conflicts over ownership of cultural heritage cause friction between China and Korea, and no peace treaty has ever been signed to conclude the Korean War. For over a decade, the region’s governments and non-government groups have sought to confront the ghosts of the past by developing paths to reconciliation. Focusing particularly on popular culture and grassroots action, East Asia beyond the History Wars explores these East Asian approaches to historical reconciliation. This book examines how Korean historians from North and South exchange ideas about national history, how Chinese film-makers reframe their views of the war with Japan, and how Japanese social activists develop grassroots reconciliation projects with counterparts from Korea and elsewhere. As the volume’s studies of museums, monuments and memorials show, East Asian public images of modern history are changing, but change is fragile and uncertain. This unfinished story of East Asia’s search for historical reconciliation has important implications for the study of popular memory worldwide. Presenting a fresh perspective on reconciliation which draws on both history and cultural studies, this book will be welcomed by students and scholars working in the fields of Asian history, Asian culture and society as well as those interested in war and memory studies more generally.

The Asia Pacific War

The Asia Pacific War PDF Author: Yasuko Claremont
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1315408007
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Book Description
This book examines key aspects of the Asia Pacific War (1931–1945), that was initially waged between Japan and China, before Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor drew in the U.S.-led allied forces from 1941 to 1945. Part I of the book examines three interlocking components, the origins of the war; its impact on combatants and civilians; and its short-term legacy, including the huge changes that took place in the postwar governance of Japan. Part II explores the ongoing impact and legacy of the war for those in postwar Japan, and later generations, particularly through the examination of the ambiguity of state-led reconciliation with Japan’s neighbors, the growth of dynamic civil reconciliation efforts, and the prominent role of the arts in peace movements. Through a people-centered approach it filters historical events through the lens of the war’s impact on individuals, who found themselves players within a larger frame of the social history of Japan and caught up in the international power dynamics of the nuclear age. Featuring studies of contemporary peace activism, this will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of Modern Asian and U.S. History, as well as those interested in postwar memory and reconciliation.

Postwar Reconcilitation in Central Europe and East Asia

Postwar Reconcilitation in Central Europe and East Asia PDF Author: Olga Barbasiewicz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783631749548
Category : Germany
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Cold War in Europe and Asia has lastingly affected the postwar reconciliation processes: Korea and Germany remained divided into two countries, Japan evolved into the closest ally of its past enemy, and Poland, which was among the Allies of World War II, was left under the influence of the Soviet Union. In view of their complicated postwar history, these countries can serve as examples for comparison of the postwar reconciliation processes. This book addresses the case of Central Europe and East Asia - regions which suffered from war atrocities and still have to cope with their war experiences. The aim is to identify tools to implement a strategy of rapprochement between past enemies who need to find solutions for their coexistence in the contemporary world.

Postwar Reconciliation in Central Europe and East Asia

Postwar Reconciliation in Central Europe and East Asia PDF Author: Olga Barbasiewicz
Publisher: International Relations in Asia, Africa and the Americas
ISBN: 9783631744529
Category : Germany
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This book depicts a case study of Polish-German and Korean-Japanese postwar relations and reconciliation processes by identifying similarities in their bilateral experiences and history. The contributions reveal the significance of memory and reconciliation in social sciences, and politics, as well as in cultural studies.