Northeast Asia S Difficult Past

The problem of memory in China, Japan and Korea involves a surfeit rather than a deficit of memory, and the consequence of this excess is negative: unforgettable traumas prevent nations from coming to terms with the problems of the present. These compelling essays enrich Western scholarship by applying to it insights derived from Asian settings.

The aim of this book is to analyse the Japan-South Korean relationship from various angles such as politics, security, economics, culture and immigration issues and how the relationship is affected by the changing power relations in Northeast Asia.

Despite witnessing phenomenal economic growth and the spread of democratization in recent decades, as well as impressive intra-regional exchanges and interactions in the economic and cultural spheres, the Northeast Asian region still experience wounds from past wrongs that were committed in times of colonialism, war and dictatorship. Overcoming these historical animosities has become one of the most pressing issues of the future for the region. Of all the countries in the Northeast Asia region coping with this historical injustice, the Republic of Korea stands out as both a victim and an aggressor. Being a nation that has addressed issues of both internal and external injustice, Korea becomes the focus of this volume. Using examples of injustice from the colonial and the Second World War period, the Korean civil War, the current stage of Korean transitional justice and broader regional and global perspectives, the book concludes with a section on forward-looking approaches for arriving at reconciliation in the Asian region. This is a significant book that will be of huge interest to anyone studying East Asian politics, history or society.

Korea is a nation that has addressed issues of both internal and external injustices from past wrongs that were committed in times of colonialism, war and dictatorship. Using examples of this injustice, this book focuses on Korea and looks towards reconciliation in the region.

Despite East Asia's economic growth, ghosts of history continue to trouble relations between the key countries of the region. Unhappy legacies of Japan's military expansion in pre-war Asia prompt on-going calls for apologies, while conflicts over ownership of cultural heritage cause friction between China and Korea, and no peace treaty has ever been signed to conclude the Korean War. For over a decade, the region's governments and non-government groups have sought to confront the ghosts of the past, and focusing particularly on popular culture and grassroots action, East Asia beyond the History Wars explores these East Asian approaches to historical reconciliation.

Sino-Japanese relations have been on the mend since Shinzo Abe assumed the Japanese Prime Minister''s office in September 2006. His visit to China in October 2006 and the reciprocal visits of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in April 2007, and President Hu Jintao in May 2008, facilitated the further thawing of bilateral relations under the framework of OC mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic relationship.OCO A substantial number of additional events have indicated the continuation of the positive trend in the strengthening of the bilateral relations.However, several issues continue to obstruct the building of long-term confidence between the two Asian giants. Despite the overall improved relations, there is very little structural thinking about how to move the Sino-Japanese relations to the next level and how to institutionalize security dialogues at the regional and international level.This book provides an overview of the current situation and also gives suggestions on what is needed to move beyond the haphazard level of cooperation in Northeast Asia, especially as the six-party talks seem to have broken down. It focuses on Chinese and Japanese perceptions of the bilateral situation, and the potential of, and need for, multilateral structures in managing the future.

Sino-Japanese relations have been on the mend since Shinzo Abe assumed the Japanese Prime Minister's office in September 2006. His visit to China in October 2006 and the reciprocal visits of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in April 2007, and President Hu Jintao in May 2008, facilitated the further thawing of bilateral relations under the framework of “mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic relationship.” A substantial number of additional events have indicated the continuation of the positive trend in the strengthening of the bilateral relations. However, several issues continue to obstruct the building of long-term confidence between the two Asian giants. Despite the overall improved relations, there is very little structural thinking about how to move the Sino-Japanese relations to the next level and how to institutionalize security dialogues at the regional and international level. This book provides an overview of the current situation and also gives suggestions on what is needed to move beyond the haphazard level of cooperation in Northeast Asia, especially as the six-party talks seem to have broken down. It focuses on Chinese and Japanese perceptions of the bilateral situation, and the potential of, and need for, multilateral structures in managing the future. Contents:Introduction (Niklas Swanström & Ryosei Kokubun)Setting the Terminology:Moving from Crisis Management to Regional Cooperation: Clarifying Concepts (Martina Klimesova)Current Bilateral Relations:Sino–Japanese Relations: A Japanese Perspective (Hiroki Takeuchi)Sino–Japanese Relations: A Chinese Perspective (Fu Xiao)Sino–Japanese Relations: The American Factor (Peter Gries)Multilateral Structures:Sino–Japanese Strategic Relations in Multilateral Regional Frameworks (Yasuhiro Takeda)Major Powers' Policies toward North Korea and Implications for Sino–Japanese Relations (Gui Yongtao)Regional Structures in Northeast Asia: Whither and What? (Niklas Swanström)China, Japan and Asian Regional Integration: From Bilateral to Multilateral? (Rumi Aoyama)Where are We Moving?:Sino–Japanese Relations: From the “1972 Framework” to the “2006 Framework” (Ryosei Kokubun)Power, Soft and Hard: The U.S., China and Northeast Asia in the Financial Crisis and the North Korea Problem (Shi Yinhong) Readership: Graduates and researchers studying Sino-Japanese relations; government agencies and policy makers involved in regional cooperation, conflict management and security decisions. Keywords:Sino-Japanese Relations;Conflict Management;Multilateralism;Regionalism;ConflictKey Features:Focuses on regional security and the Sino-Japanese relationsNew approach to regional security, departing from bilateral relations and moving on to the need for regional structures and cooperationContributors include leading scholars from Japan, China and the US. Offers insights that are both relevant for academics as well as the policy community

This book offers a detailed analysis of the domestic politics of regionalism in the three major nations of Northeast Asia (China, Japan, and Korea), as well as in the most important external actor, the United States.