Social Sciences
By Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki, ARC Laureate Fellow based at the School of Culture, History and Language, at the College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University and APP Member
First appeared in the EastAsiaForum, 18 August 2015
As the clock ticked down to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Asia Pacific War, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faced a dilemma. His right-wing supporters were pushing him to produce a commemorative statement that would move away from the apologetic approach of his predecessors and ?restore Japan?s pride?. Moderates, Asian neighbours and (most importantly) the US government were pushing him to uphold the earlier apologies issued by former prime ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi. Most of the media anticipation centred around the wording of the forthcoming Abe statement. Would it, like the Murayama Statement of 1995 and the Koizumi Statement of 2005, include the words ?apology? (owabi) and aggression (shinryaku)?
Abe?s response to this dilemma was clever. First, he established a committee of hand-picked ?experts? to provide a report locating Japan?s wartime past in the broad sweep of 20th-century history. Then, drawing heavily on their report, he produced a statement that was more than twice the length of those issued by his predecessors. His statement, to the relief of many observers, did use the words ?apology? and ?aggression?. In fact, it is almost overladen with all the right words: ?we must learn from the lessons of history?; ?our country inflict immeasurable damage and suffering?; ?deep repentance?; ?deep remorse and heartfelt apology?; ?we will engrave in our hearts the past?.
But, focusing on the vocabulary, some observers failed to notice that Abe had embedded these words in a narrative of Japanese history that was entirely different from the one that underpinned previous prime ministerial statements. That is why his statement is so much longer than theirs. So which past is the Abe statement engraving in the hearts of Japanese citizens?
The story presented in Abe?s statement goes like this. Western colonial expansionism forced Japan to modernise, which it did with remarkable success. Japan?s victory in the Russo?Japanese War gave hope to the colonised peoples of the world. After World War I, there was a move to create a peaceful world order. Japan actively participated, but following the Great Depression, the Western powers created economic blocs based on their colonial empires. This dealt a ?major blow? to Japan. Forced into a corner, Japan ?attempted to overcome its diplomatic and economic deadlock through the use of force?. The result was the 1931 Manchurian Incident, Japan?s withdrawal from the League of Nations, and everything that followed. ?Japan took the wrong course and advanced along the road to war?.
The narrative of war that Abe presents leads naturally to the lessons that he derives from history. Nations should avoid the use of force to break ?deadlock?. They should promote free trade so that economic blocs will never again become a cause of war. And they should avoid challenging the international order.
The problem with Abe?s new narrative is that it is historically wrong. This is perhaps not surprising, since the committee of experts on whom he relied included only four historians in its 16 members. And its report, running to some 31 pages, contains less than a page about the causes and events of the Asia Pacific War.
In effect, the Abe narrative of history looks like an exam script where the student has accidentally misread the question. He has answered the question about the reasons for Japan?s invasion of Manchuria with an answer that should go with the question about the reasons for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
There is widespread consensus that the immediate cause for Japan?s attack on Pearl Harbor was the stranglehold on Japan created by imperial protectionism and economic blockade by the Western powers. But there is equal consensus that the reasons for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, and for the outbreak of full-scale war in China in 1937, were different and much more complex.
Key factors at work in 1931 were the troubled relationship between the Japanese military and the civilian government; Japan?s desire for resources, transport routes and living space; rising nationalism in an economically and socially troubled Japan; and corruption and instability in Northeastern China. By the time Japan launched its full scale invasion of China in 1937, global protectionism was becoming a larger issue. But even then, other issues like Japan?s desire to protect its massive investments in China from the rising forces of Chinese nationalism were paramount.
Economic historians note that the Japanese empire was the first to take serious steps towards imperial protectionism. The slide into global protectionism had barely started at the time of the Manchurian Incident. Britain did not create its imperial preference system until 1932. The economic blockade that strangled the Japanese economy in 1940?41 was the response to Japan?s invasion of China, not its cause.
This is not academic quibbling. These things really matter, and vividly illustrate why historical knowledge is vital to any understanding of contemporary international affairs.
The Abe narrative of history fails to address the causes and nature of Japan?s colonisation of Taiwan (in 1895) and Korea (in 1910), and ignores the large presence of Japanese troops in China long before 1931. It says to China: ?Sorry we invaded you, but those other guys painted us into a corner?. It offers an untenable explanation for Japan?s actions, and blurs the distinction between aggressive and defensive behaviour. Western media commentators who haven?t studied Japanese history may not pick up these flaws in the narrative, but Chinese and South Korean observers (who have their own, sometimes profoundly problematic, versions of this history) will instantly see them and rightly object.
Engraving a factually flawed story of the past in people?s hearts is not going to solve East Asia?s problems, and risks making them worse. Worse still, the Abe statement is generating deeply divergent responses in the countries where East Asian history is not widely taught (most notably the United States) and those where it is (South Korea, China and Japan itself), thus creating even deeper divisions in our already too divided world.
- Historical Revisionism Undermines Abe?s Apology
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- Japan Urged To Take Pride In Admitting To Troubled Past
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Social Sciences
Abe?s WWII statement fails history 101
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| Dove of Peace at the Yasukuni Shrine |
First appeared in the EastAsiaForum, 18 August 2015
As the clock ticked down to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Asia Pacific War, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faced a dilemma. His right-wing supporters were pushing him to produce a commemorative statement that would move away from the apologetic approach of his predecessors and ?restore Japan?s pride?. Moderates, Asian neighbours and (most importantly) the US government were pushing him to uphold the earlier apologies issued by former prime ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi. Most of the media anticipation centred around the wording of the forthcoming Abe statement. Would it, like the Murayama Statement of 1995 and the Koizumi Statement of 2005, include the words ?apology? (owabi) and aggression (shinryaku)?
Abe?s response to this dilemma was clever. First, he established a committee of hand-picked ?experts? to provide a report locating Japan?s wartime past in the broad sweep of 20th-century history. Then, drawing heavily on their report, he produced a statement that was more than twice the length of those issued by his predecessors. His statement, to the relief of many observers, did use the words ?apology? and ?aggression?. In fact, it is almost overladen with all the right words: ?we must learn from the lessons of history?; ?our country inflict immeasurable damage and suffering?; ?deep repentance?; ?deep remorse and heartfelt apology?; ?we will engrave in our hearts the past?.
But, focusing on the vocabulary, some observers failed to notice that Abe had embedded these words in a narrative of Japanese history that was entirely different from the one that underpinned previous prime ministerial statements. That is why his statement is so much longer than theirs. So which past is the Abe statement engraving in the hearts of Japanese citizens?
The story presented in Abe?s statement goes like this. Western colonial expansionism forced Japan to modernise, which it did with remarkable success. Japan?s victory in the Russo?Japanese War gave hope to the colonised peoples of the world. After World War I, there was a move to create a peaceful world order. Japan actively participated, but following the Great Depression, the Western powers created economic blocs based on their colonial empires. This dealt a ?major blow? to Japan. Forced into a corner, Japan ?attempted to overcome its diplomatic and economic deadlock through the use of force?. The result was the 1931 Manchurian Incident, Japan?s withdrawal from the League of Nations, and everything that followed. ?Japan took the wrong course and advanced along the road to war?.
The narrative of war that Abe presents leads naturally to the lessons that he derives from history. Nations should avoid the use of force to break ?deadlock?. They should promote free trade so that economic blocs will never again become a cause of war. And they should avoid challenging the international order.
The problem with Abe?s new narrative is that it is historically wrong. This is perhaps not surprising, since the committee of experts on whom he relied included only four historians in its 16 members. And its report, running to some 31 pages, contains less than a page about the causes and events of the Asia Pacific War.
In effect, the Abe narrative of history looks like an exam script where the student has accidentally misread the question. He has answered the question about the reasons for Japan?s invasion of Manchuria with an answer that should go with the question about the reasons for the attack on Pearl Harbor.
There is widespread consensus that the immediate cause for Japan?s attack on Pearl Harbor was the stranglehold on Japan created by imperial protectionism and economic blockade by the Western powers. But there is equal consensus that the reasons for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, and for the outbreak of full-scale war in China in 1937, were different and much more complex.
Key factors at work in 1931 were the troubled relationship between the Japanese military and the civilian government; Japan?s desire for resources, transport routes and living space; rising nationalism in an economically and socially troubled Japan; and corruption and instability in Northeastern China. By the time Japan launched its full scale invasion of China in 1937, global protectionism was becoming a larger issue. But even then, other issues like Japan?s desire to protect its massive investments in China from the rising forces of Chinese nationalism were paramount.
Economic historians note that the Japanese empire was the first to take serious steps towards imperial protectionism. The slide into global protectionism had barely started at the time of the Manchurian Incident. Britain did not create its imperial preference system until 1932. The economic blockade that strangled the Japanese economy in 1940?41 was the response to Japan?s invasion of China, not its cause.
This is not academic quibbling. These things really matter, and vividly illustrate why historical knowledge is vital to any understanding of contemporary international affairs.
The Abe narrative of history fails to address the causes and nature of Japan?s colonisation of Taiwan (in 1895) and Korea (in 1910), and ignores the large presence of Japanese troops in China long before 1931. It says to China: ?Sorry we invaded you, but those other guys painted us into a corner?. It offers an untenable explanation for Japan?s actions, and blurs the distinction between aggressive and defensive behaviour. Western media commentators who haven?t studied Japanese history may not pick up these flaws in the narrative, but Chinese and South Korean observers (who have their own, sometimes profoundly problematic, versions of this history) will instantly see them and rightly object.
Engraving a factually flawed story of the past in people?s hearts is not going to solve East Asia?s problems, and risks making them worse. Worse still, the Abe statement is generating deeply divergent responses in the countries where East Asian history is not widely taught (most notably the United States) and those where it is (South Korea, China and Japan itself), thus creating even deeper divisions in our already too divided world.
- Historical Revisionism Undermines Abe?s Apology
the books being distributed by DietmembersBy Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki, ARC Laureate Fellow based at the School of Culture, History and Language, at the College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University and APP member First published...
- The Wall Street Journal, Of All Publications, Reprimands Abe
Abe at Ise Shrine January 5, 2015Abe?s New Year Resolution Honesty about World War II will bolster Japan?s standing in Asia. The Wall Street Journal, Editorial January 8, 2015 East Asia would benefit from improved relations between Japan and South Korea,...
- Japan Urged To Take Pride In Admitting To Troubled Past
On January 12th, Kyodo News interviewed APP member Columbia University Professor Gerald Curtis. He described Japan's ties with China and South Korea as "worrisome," with the "history issue" as an underlying factor. His advice was for Japan to...
- Ldp Official Wants Review Of War Apologies
Shinzo Abe and Sanae TakaichiThe 1995 Murayama Statement, is Japan only official apology for Japan's war in Asia. It is the only Cabinet-approved apology by Japan. There have been several other official apologies since then, but they are...
- Poll: Gulf Still Wide Between Japanese And Chinese
The results of a recent opinion poll carried out jointly in Japan and China by the non-profit organization Genron NPO and a Chinese news agency underscore the deep-seated negative views that Japanese and Chinese continue to hold toward each other. The...