Understanding History in Asia

It is said that the twentieth century was a century of war. War and colonization can leave deep divides between nations. In the case of Japan, this antagonism manifested as a result of historical issues. There have also been moments in postwar history where efforts were made to overcome the hostility surrounding these problems. We can see times that featured attempts at reconciliation, and improvements in relations between Japan and China, as well as Japan and South Korea. However, these problems heated up in the 21st century, impacting not only relations with China and South Korea, but even the United States, South-East Asia, and Europe.

This title examines the period from the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (the Tokyo Trial) to the normalization of relations between Japan and South Korea and between Japan and China. Chapter 1 explores issues that arose regarding Japanese history textbooks, the release of a statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Miyazawa Kiichi, Chun Doo-hwan's visit to Japan, and “mutual trust" with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang and Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro. Chapter 2 investigates the view of the Chinese side and behind-the-scenes negotiations regarding visits by Japanese prime ministers to Yasukuni Shrine, focusing on Prime Minister Nakasone's official visit in particular. As for the issue of the wartime comfort women, Chapter 3 delves into Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi's visit to South Korea, the statements by chief cabinet secretaries Kato Kōichi and Kōno Yōhei, and relations with South Korea. Chapter 4 explains how Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi's statement, which was issued on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end, came to comprise a common language within Japanese politics. Chapter 5 examines 21st-century issues, while the final chapter provides future prospects regarding what the future will hold.

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. 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); Ōhira Masayoshi: Rinen to gaikō [Ōhira 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 Sato Eisaku: Saichō futō seiken e no michi [Sato Eisaku: The path to Japan's longest-serving administration] (Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2017).

*information as of time of publication

Political Science

Publisher:
Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture

Hardcover
¥3,100 + tax (NO LONGER BEING SOLD)
ISBN 9784866580548
210 mm x 148 mm / 272 pp. / March 2019

eBook
OPEN ACCESS / NOT FOR SALE
ISBN 9784866580838 (PDF)

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

CONTENTS
Introduction
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
Afterword
Postscript
References

歴史教科書，靖国参拝，「従軍慰安婦」……様々な思いが絡み合う歴史認識問題。しかしそこには，関係悪化と修復とを繰り返してきた東アジア国際関係の複雑な歩みが存在した。日本政府は歴史認識問題とどのように向き合い，中国・韓国とどのように対話してきたのか。その過程を丁寧にたどり，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『大平正芳 理念と外交』(岩波書店，2014年)，『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)，『日中歴史認識──「田中上奏文」をめぐる相剋1927─2010』(東京大学出版会，2010年)，『広田弘毅──「悲劇の宰相」の実像』(中公新書，2008年)など。