Understanding History in Asia

The twentieth century has been called a century of war. Wars and colonization leave deep chasms between countries. In the case of Japan, these frictions have manifested themselves as historical issues. The history since World War II has also been a history of tyring to overcome the hostility surrounding these issues. Since the end of the war there have been various attempts at reconciliation, and indeed, periods in which Japan has enjoyed good relations with China and also with South Korea. Despite that, historical issues have overheated in the twenty-first century, and their effects may extend beyond Japan's relations with China and South Korea to impact its relations with the United States, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

This title examines the first, in the introduction, the period from the Tokyo Military Tribunal to the normalization of relations between Japan and South Korea and between Japan and China. In chapter one, it explores an issue that arose regarding Japanese history textbooks and a statement released by Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Miyazawa Kiichi, South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan’s visit to Japan, and “mutual trust” between Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang. Chapter two reveals the view of the Chinese side and behind-the-scenes negotiations that evolved around Prime Minister Nakasone's official visit to Yasukuni Shrine. Chapter three delves into the wartime "comfort women" issue, including Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi’s visit to South Korea and statements made by Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Kōichi and Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kōno Yōhei. Chapter four takes up the statement released by Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and discusses how the statement has become a kind of common language within Japanese politics. Chapter five considers issues that have arisen in the twenty-first and the epilogue provides observations about the prospects for these areas in the future.

HATTORI Ryuji
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1968. Hattori Ryuji holds a bachelor’s degree from Kyoto University Faculty of Law and a doctorate in political science from Kobe University. He taught at Chiba University and Takushoku University prior to assuming his current position of professor in Chuo University’s Faculty of Policy Studies in 2010. His books include Higashi Ajia kokusai kankyō no hendō to Nihon gaikō 1918–1931 [Changes in East Asia’s international environment and Japanese diplomacy, 1918–1931] (Yuhikaku Publishing, 2001); Nitchū rekishi ninshiki: “Tanaka jōsōbun” o meguru sōkoku 1927–2010 [Understanding Sino-Japanese history: Conflict over the Tanaka Memorial, 1927–2010] (University of Tokyo Press, 2010); О̄hira Masayoshi: Rinen to gaikō [О̄hira Masayoshi: Principles and diplomacy] (Iwanami Shoten, 2014); Nakasone Yasuhiro: “Daitōryō-teki shushō” no kiseki [Nakasone Yasuhiro: Trajectory of a “presidential-type” prime minister] (Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2015); Zōho-ban Shidehara Kijūrō: Gaikō to minshu shugi [Shidehara Kijūrō: Diplomacy and democracy, enlarged edition] (Yoshida Shoten, 2017); and Satō Eisaku: Saichō futō seiken e no michi [Satō Eisaku: The path to Japan’s longest-serving administration] (Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2017).

*information as of time of publication

Japan Library series
History

Publisher:
Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture

Hardcover
¥3,100 + tax
ISBN 9784866580548
210 mm x 148 mm / 272 pp. / March 2019

eBook
ISBN 9784866580999 (ePub)
ISBN 9784866580838 (PDF)

CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction: From the Tokyo Military Tribunal to the Normalization of Japan–South Korea and Japan–China relations
1. The Japanese History Textbook Issue and “Mutual Trust”
2. Official Visits to Yasukuni Shrine
3. The Comfort Women Issue
4. The Murayama Statement
5. Going beyond the Century of War
Epilogue: Is There a Way to Make Historical Issues a Thing of the Past?
Afterword
Postscript
References

歴史教科書、靖国参拝、「従軍慰安婦」… さまざまな思いが絡み合う歴史認識問題。そこには関係悪化と修復を繰り返す東アジア国際関係の複雑な歩みがある。日本政府は彼らといかに対峙し、交渉を重ねてきたか。その過程を辿り、日本の立脚点を模索する。

服部龍二
1968年東京都生まれ。京都大学法学部卒業、神戸大学大学院法学研究科単位取得退学。博士(政治学)。現在、中央大学総合政策学部教授。日本外交史・東アジア国際政治史。著書に『日中国交正常化―田中角栄、大平正芳、官僚たちの挑戦』(中公新書、2011年、第11回大佛次郎論壇賞、第23回アジア・太平洋賞特別賞受賞)など。

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