The History Problem The Politics of War Commemoration in East Asia / Hiro Saito.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saito, Hiro (Sociologist), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and society--East Asia.

War and society.

Nationalism and collective memory--East Asia.

Nationalism and collective memory.

Memorialization--East Asia.

Memorialization.

East Asia--Foreign relations.

East Asia.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 pages)

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Seventy years have passed since the end of the Asia-Pacific War, yet Japan remains embroiled in controversy with its neighbors over the war’s commemoration. Among the many points of contention between Japan, China, and South Korea are interpretations of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, apologies and compensation for foreign victims of Japanese aggression, prime ministerial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the war’s portrayal in textbooks. Collectively, these controversies have come to be called the “history problem.” But why has the problem become so intractable? Can it ever be resolved, and if so, how? To answer these questions author Hiro Saito mobilizes the sociology of collective memory and social movements, political theories of apology and reconciliation, psychological research on intergroup conflict, and philosophical reflections on memory and history. The history problem, he argues, is essentially a relational phenomenon caused when nations publicly showcase self-serving versions of the past at key ceremonies and events: Japan, South Korea, and China all focus on what happened to their own citizens with little regard for foreign others. Saito goes on to explore the emergence of a cosmopolitan form of commemoration taking humanity, rather than nationality, as its primary frame of reference, an approach increasingly used by a transnational network of advocacy NGOs, victims of Japan’s past wrongdoings, historians, and educators. When cosmopolitan commemoration is practiced as a collective endeavor by both perpetrators and victims, Saito argues, a resolution of the history problem—and eventual reconciliation—will finally become possible.The History Problem examines a vast corpus of historical material in both English and Japanese, offering provocative findings that challenge orthodox explanations. Written in clear and accessible prose, this uniquely interdisciplinary book will appeal to sociologists, political scientists, and historians researching collective memory, nationalism and cosmopolitanism, and international relations—and to anyone interested in the commemoration of historical wrongs.

Contents:

Cross-national fragmentation, 1945-1964

The growth of transnational interactions, 1965-1988

Apologies and denunciations, 1989-1996

The coexistence of nationalism and cosmopolitanism, 1997-2015

The legacy of the Tokyo trial

The role of historians in the history problem.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2016.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-270) and index.

This eBook is made available Open Access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://www.degruyter.com/dg/page/open-access-policy

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780824873714

0824873718

9780824856779

0824856775

9780824874391

0824874390

9780824856755

0824856759

OCLC:

964698883

Access Restriction:

Open Access Unrestricted online access