Contextualizing the Centennial of Japanese Colonial Rule in Korea
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2011.15.3.71-94Keywords:
Japan, Korea, colonialsim, reconciliation, apologyAbstract
This article examines the 2010 commemoration of the centennial of Japanese colonialism in Korea. Prime Minister Kan Naoto’s apology generated controversy, exposing the longstanding domestic divide within Japan over the imperial past. The politicization of history, apologies and acts of contrition impedes reconciliation between Japan and its Asian neighbours. Apologies and acts of contrition may not be sufficient to advance reconciliation, but remain essential elements of that process. Japan’s legalistic position based on the 1965 Basic Treaty may protect it from further compensation claims, but also precludes the grand gestures that are essential to reconciliation.Downloads
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References
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AWF Digital Museum. Accessed November 18, 2011. http://www.awf.or.jp/eguidemap.html.
Caprio, Mark. 2009. Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Dudden, Alexis. 2005. Japan’s Colonization of Korea. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Dudden, Alexis. 2008. Troubled Apologies. New York: Columbia University Press.
Duus, Peter. 1998. Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea 1895–1910. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Harris, Tobias. 2010. “The Politics of Japan’s Prime Minister’s Apology.” Accessed August 7, 2011. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/08/18/the-politics-of-japansprime-ministers-apology/
Hongō, Jun. 2007. “Koreans Sue Yasukuni to Get Names Delisted.” Japan Times, February 27. Accessed November 12, 2011. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20070227a1.html
Kim, Hyo Soon, and Kil, Yun Hyung. 2010. “Remembering and Redressing the Forced Mobilization of Korean Laborers by Imperial Japan.” The Asia-Pacific Journal February 15. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.japanfocus.org/-Kil-Yun_Hyung/3303
Kingston, Jeff. 2004. Japan’s Quiet Transformation. London: Routledge.
Kingston, Jeff. 2007. “Awkward Talisman: War Memory, Reconciliation and Yasukuni.” East Asia. 24: 295–318.
Kingston, Jeff. 2011. Contemporary Japan. Oxford: Wiley.
Levidis, Andrew. 2010. “In the Shadow of an Apology: Reconciling Japan-South Korea Relations.” East Asia Forum. Accessed November 19, 2011. http://www.eastasiaforum.
org/2010/08/17/in-the-shadow-of-an-apologyreconciling-japan-south-korea-relations/
Lind, Jennifer. 2008. Sorry States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell.
Lind, Jennifer. 2009. “Apologies in International Politics.” Security Studies 18(3): 517–556.
Midford, Paul. 2011. “Historical Memory versus Democratic Reassurance.” In Changing Power Relations in Northeast Asia: Implications forRelations between Japan and South Korea, edited by Marie Soderberg, 77–98. London: Routledge.
Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. 2007. “Japan’s ‘Comfort Women’: It’s Time for the Truth.” The Asia-Pacific Journal March 8. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://japanfocus.org/-Tessa-Morris_Suzuki/2373.
Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. 2009. “Refugees, Abductees, ‘Returnees’: Human Rights in Japan-North Korea Relations.” The Asia-Pacific Journal 13(3), March 29. Accessed November 12, 2011. http://www.japanfocus.org/-Tessa-Morris_Suzuki/3110.
“Murayama Statement.” Accessed August 6, 2011. http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html Last.
Northeast Asian History Foundation. 2011 “History Controversy: Yasukuni Shrine.” Accessed November 12, 2011. http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=49.
Park, Pae-keun. 2010. “Discussions Concerning the Legality of the 1910 ‘Annexation’ of Korea by Japan.” Korean Journal 50(4): 13–41.
Park, Cheol Hee. 2011. “Increasing Cooperation in the Midst of Recurring Frictions.” In Changing Power Relations in Northeast Asia: Implications for Relations between Japan and South Korea, edited by Marie Soderberg, 39–54. London: Routledge.
Ruoff, Kenneth. 2001. The People’s Emperor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ruoff, Kenneth. 2010. Imperial Japan at its Zenith. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Ryū, Junpil. 2010. “Several Present Conditions Defining 100 Years of Japan’s Annexation of Korea.” Korean Journal 50(4): 127–151.
Saaler, Sven. 2004. Politics, Memory and Public Opinion: The History Textbook Debate and Japanese Society. Munich: Iudicium.
“Statement by Prime Minister Naoto Kan.” Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/kan/statement/201008/10danwa_e.html.
The Hankyoreh, and Underwood, William. 2010. “Recent Developments in Korean-Japanese Historical Reconciliation.” The Asia-Pacific Journal, April 26. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.japanfocus.org/--Hankyoreh/3348.
Underwood, William. 2008. “New Era for Japan-Korea History Issues: Forced Labor Redress Efforts Begin to Bear Fruit.” The Asia-Pacific Journal, March 8. Accessed August 13, 2011. http://www.japanfocus.org/-William-Underwood/2689#.
“Verdict on Comfort Women.” 2011. Korea Herald, September 2. Accessed November 18, 2011. http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110902000569.
Wada, Haruki. 2008. “The Comfort Women, the Asian Women’s Fund and the Digital Museum.” The Asia-Pacific Journal, February 1. Accessed August13, 2011. http://japanfocus.org/-Haruki-Wada/2653.
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Published
1. 12. 2011
Issue
Section
Past Inspirations and Present Explorations
How to Cite
Kingston, Jeff. 2011. “Contextualizing the Centennial of Japanese Colonial Rule in Korea”. Asian Studies 15 (3): 71-94. https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2011.15.3.71-94.
