Conflicts on History Writing in East Asia: An Intricate Knot of Patriotism of Japan, China, and Korea

Conflicts on history writing in East Asia have drawn a serious attention since 1982 in Japan, China and Korea.  Since then, they have experienced both aggravation and relaxation of the tension on this issue.  It has been said that the tension was mainly caused by Japanese government’s inconsistent attitudes toward the past, especially toward Japan’s aggressive wars.  In effect, Japanese conservative government showed impartial view on history, yet, the past studies heavily attributed the cause of the conflicts to this particular point.  Moreover, so-called Koguryo problem made it clear that disagreement about the history writing has existed between Japan and its neighboring countries as well as between China and Korea.  Thus, a new approach to analyze the present complex situation is definitely required.

In my presentation, I will first explain the conflicting views on history in each country in relation to patriotism and show how this domestic disagreement in politics reflects on the problem of history writing in this region.  This analytical framework will provide a new insight into the long lasting debate on historical consciousness in the changing international order of East Asia.