Meeting Reconciliation Challenges in China-Japan-Korea Relations: Japanese Policy Options and Civil Society Initiatives
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Chapter Abstract:
Contested meanings of East Asia’s wartime history stand in the way of reconciliation between China, Japan, and Korea. There are three dilemmas concerning East Asia’s reconciliation challenges, namely: (1) how can the three countries carry out more open and honest dialogues on history but remain constructive; (2) how can each of the three societies honor its distinct history but simultaneously promote mutual respect; and (3) how can the three societies transmit their distinct narratives and memories of history to future generations while preventing mistrust from deepening across generations? Recommendations for policymakers and civil society leaders to respond to these three questions presented in this article. They focus primarily on Japanese actions and include implications for China and Korea:
● Redefine and expand social space for diplomatic and civil society exchanges between the three societies to tackle reconciliation challenges more systematically.
● Invest in building government and civil society leaders’ capacities to analyze the roots of collective traumas and identity conflicts objectively, facilitate reconciliation processes, and apply the skills to national and regional policymaking.
● Work continuously to identify and collaborate on concrete projects of historical significance. Jointly implement, for example, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which requires women’s participation in all phases and aspects of peace processes and calls for the elimination of gender-based violence.
● Seek and accept invitations to annual national ceremonies of remembrance. Reciprocate and institutionalize such visits between the three societies, including at the highest level.
● Revise social studies and history textbooks that encourage students to uncritically adopt official positions on contested territorial claims. Instead, introduce more critical historical analysis and creative problemsolving skills and facilitate educational policy dialogues between the three societies about best practices and challenges.
Book Abstract:
The eyes and ears of much of Asia will be on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he delivers a speech in August 2015 to commemorate 70 years since the end of World War II. It will undoubtedly be the most scrutinized of Abe’s public addresses to date, a fact that has not escaped the Prime Minister’s Office as experts have been assembled months in advance to advise him on the broader strategy and the appropriate wording for the occasion.
Are there indeed words or policies that the Japanese premier can pursue that will resolve the diplomatic impasse over memories of war and occupation? Is there the political will in South Korea as well as in China to want to move forward on the history issue?
In March 2015, a conference was held at the Wilson Center bringing together scholars from Japan, South Korea, China, and the United States to discuss why Japan’s apologies regarding its actions during World War II have not been enough to assuage its neighbors, and to propose policies that could lead to a breakthrough in the deadlock. This collection of essays is a result of that event.
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