The Burden of the Past

The Burden of the Past reexamines the dispute over historical perception between Japan and South Korea, going beyond the descriptive emphasis of previous studies to clearly identify the many independent variables that have affected the situation. From the history textbook debates, to the Occupation-period exploitation of “comfort women,” to the Dokdo/Takeshima territory dispute and Yasukuni Shrine visits, Professor Kimura traces the rise and fall of popular, political, and international concerns underlying these complex and highly fraught issues.

Utilizing Japanese and South Korean newspaper databases to review discussion of the two countries’ disputed historical perceptions from the end of World War II to the present, The Burden of the Past provides readers with the historical framework and the major players involved, offering much-needed clarity on such polarizing issues. By seeing behind the public discourse and political rhetoric, this book offers a firmer footing for a discussion and the steps toward resolution.

KIMURA Kan

Kimura Kan is professor at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies at Kobe University, and has previously been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, the Sejong Institute, and the University of Washington. He has published more than seventeen books and numerous articles and is an expert on the relationship between Korea and Japan.

*information as of time of publication

Political Science

Publisher:
University of Michigan Press

Hardcover
US$75
ISBN 9780472074105
229 mm x 152 mm / 264 pp. / March 2019

Softcover
US$29.95
ISBN 9780472054107
229 mm x 152 mm / 264 pp. / January 2019

eBook
US$29.95
ISBN 9780472125036 (ePub)
January 2019

CONTENTS
Foreword
Preface to the English Edition
Introduction: The Complexities of the Dispute over Historical Perception
Part I: Theoretical Examination
1. A Theoretical Framework for Examining the Historical Perception Dispute / 2. Three Factors in the Dispute over Historical Perceptions
Part II: Case Study I: Historical Disputes in the 1980s
3. The History Textbook Issue / 4. The Turning Point of the 1980s
Part III: Historical Perception Dispute: Case Study II: The Comfort Women Issue
5. Japan–South Korea Relations at the End of the Cold War / 6. Issues of Historical Perception during Japan’s “Lost” Twenty Years / 7. Revisiting the Japan–South Korea Historical Perception Dispute
Afterword
Chronology of the Japan–South Korea Historical Perception Issue
Notes
Bibliography
Index

"In The Burden of the Past: Problems of Historical Perception in Japan-Korea Relations (University of Michigan Press, 2019), Kobe University Professor Kan Kimura presents an in-depth analysis of the historical perception conflicts between Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Kimura gives us what has been missing in the historical debate: the context of a particular bout of Japan-Korea tension, and an analysis of the events that led to a seemingly routine bureaucratic procedure — textbook review — becoming an international incident."

Aldric Hama
Japan Forward

ともに民主主義国であり、経済的結びつきも強い日韓両国は、なぜ歴史認識問題で対立し続けているのか。80年代以降の歴史教科書問題、そして90年代以降の「従軍慰安婦」問題などが起こり続ける背景には何があるのか。本書では、日韓両国の政治過程を丹念に辿り、両国のナショナリズムが高まる中で両国のエリート統治が機能不全に陥り、「期待」と「失望」を繰り返してしまう構造を解明する。

木村 幹
1966年、大阪府河内市（現・東大阪市）生まれ。1992年、京都大学大学院法学研究科修士課程修了。博士（法学）。愛媛大学法学部助手、同講師などを経て、現在、神戸大学大学院国際協力研究科教授。著書に、『朝鮮／韓国ナショナリズムと「小国」意識』＜アジア太平洋賞特別賞受賞＞『韓国における「権威主義的」体制の成立』＜サントリー学芸賞受賞＞『高宗・閔妃』（以上、ミネルヴァ書房）、『朝鮮半島をどう見るか』（集英社新書）、『民主化の韓国政治』（名古屋大学出版会）、『韓国現代史』（中公新書）、『近代韓国のナショナリズム』（ナカニシヤ出版）、ほか。

＊著者略歴は書籍刊行時のものを表示しています。