War memory as an independent factor in Japan's relations with neighbors: on the 75th anniversary of Japan's surrender

The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II provides an opportunity for a new understanding of the global historical significance of Japan's defeat, as well as for evaluating this event from the point of view of present-day relations between Japan and its former adversaries. For many decades, a whole tangle of specific problems of the historical past related to the legacy of WWII has not lost its relevance in these relations. In fact, different countries have developed their own national-oriented discourses around the war with Japan, in which different accents are placed in the interpretation of its essence, character, main actors, and even chronology. In the West, the question of Japan's responsibility was generally considered to be closed by the terms of the post-war settlement determined by the San Francisco Peace Treaty, as well as by the verdicts of the Tokyo and other tribunals that punished Japanese war criminals. Their position during the cold war was determined primarily by the logic of bipolar confrontation, in which Japan was a faithful proponent of Western values in Asia in the global paradigm of the fight against communism. As for the USSR and post-Soviet Russia, it does not have any “historical” (not only legal, but also moral and ethical) claims against Japan related to the results of the war. In turn, in China, as well as the states of the Korean Peninsula, anti-Japanese sentiment prevails, due to the insufficient degree of public expression of remorse for the militaristic past on the part of official Tokyo, in whose policy, in their opinion, the revisionist component is growing. Their painful reaction is caused by statements of Japanese officials, and especially the head of government, which justify the militaristic policy of Japan during the war, by the visits of Cabinet members to the Yasukuni Shrine, by the publication of ‘patriotic’ history textbooks for secondary schools, etc. These countries hear from Japan both voices of admission and denial of guilt, and this complicates the bilateral dialogue at the political level. As a result, the establishment of a relationship of trust between Japan and East Asian countries seems unlikely in the foreseeable future.

«дипломатия извинений»

1. Абэ С. Уцукусий куни-э : [В направлении «красивой страны»]. Токио: Бунсюн синсё, 2006.

2. Индо хомон-но Абэ сюсё. Пару хандзи идзоку-то-но мэнкай. Надзэ : [Почему премьер Абэ встретился во время визита в Индию с семьей судьи Пала] // Акахата. 22.08.2007. URL: https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik07/2007-08-22/2007082202_05_0.html (дата обращения: 25.09.2020).

3. Коно данва хитэйха-но кэйфу (тю) : [Откуда появились противники Заявления Коно? Ч. 2] // Акахата. 15.10.2014 URL: https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik14/2014-10-15/2014101502_04_0.html (дата обращения: 25.09.2020).

4. Кэнсё. Абэ Cиндзо гороку. Рэкисикан. Синряку сэнсо-э-но хансэй кайму : [Словесные свидетельства взглядов Абэ Синдзо на историю. Никакого раскаянья за агрессивные войны] // Акахата. 29.08.2006. URL: https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik4/2006-08-29/2006082902_04_0.html (дата обращения: 25.09.2020).

5. Малинова О.Ю. Официальный исторический нарратив как элемент политики идентичности в России: от 1990-х к 2010-м годам // Полис. Политические исследования. 2016. № 6. С. 139-158. DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2016.06.10

6. Сёдзи Дзюнъитиро. Нихон-ни окэру сэнсо косё-ни кансуру мондай-но иккосацу : [Взгляд на проблему названия в Японии войны] // Кокубо кэнкюдзё киё. 2011. № 13(3). С. 43-80 (на яп.). URL: http://www.nids.mod.go.jp/publication/kiyo/pdf/bulletin_j13-3_3.pdf (дата обращения: 25.09.2020).

7. An Zhaozhen. The Historical Contribution and Loss of China in the War of Resistance against the Japanese Aggression // Global Media Journal. 2018. Volume 16, Issue 31. URL: https://www.globalmediajournal.com/open-access/the-historical-contribution-and-loss-of-china-in-the-war-of-resistance-against-the-japanese-aggression.php?aid=87124#1 (дата обращения: 25.09.2020).

8. China’s Xi Jinping marks WWII victory, slams those who ‘vilify Communist Party’ // South China Morning Post. 3 Sep., 2020. URL: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3100148/chinas-xi-jinping-marks-wwii-victory-slams-those-who-vilify (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

9. Choi Eun-Mi. Memory Politics and International Relations in East Asia - Focusing on “Past Problem” between South Korea and Japan // International Area Review. 2010. Vol. 13. Number 2. P. 63-79.

10. Dian M. Contested Memories in Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2017.

11. Dian M. Interpreting Japan’s contested memory: Conservative and progressive traditions // International Relations. 2015. Vol. 29(3). P. 363-377.

12. Fitzgerald J. China’s Anti-Fascist War Narrative: Seventy Years On and the War with Japan is Not Over Yet // The ASAN Forum. November 17, 2015. URL: http://www.theasanforum.org/chinas-anti-fascist-war-narrative-seventy-years-on-and-the-war-with-japan-is-not-over-yet/ (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

13. Green M. Japan's Reluctant Realism: Foreign Policy Challenges in an Era of Uncertain Power. N-Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001.

14. Gustafsson K. Identity and recognition: remembering and forgetting the post-war in Sino-Japanese relations // The Pacific Review. 2015. Vol. 28. Issue 1. P. 117-138. DOI: 10.1080/09512748.2014.970053

15. Gustafsson K. Understanding the persistence of history-related issues in Sino-Japanese relations: from memory to forgetting // International Politics. 30 January, 2020. URL: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-020-00219-7 (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

16. Haffner J., Casas i Klett T., & Lehmann J. Facing History: Getting Past the Nation-state // Japan's Open Future: An Agenda for Global Citizenship. London and New York: Anthem Press, 2009. P. 17-54. DOI: 10.7135/UPO9780857288127.003

17. Hong Kal. Commemoration and the Construction of Nationalism: War Memorial Museums in Korea and Japan // The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. Sep. 2008. Volume 6. Issue 9. P. 1-25. URL: https://apjjf.org/-Hong-KAL/2880/article.pdf (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

18. Iram Khan. Surrender anniversary great time for Japan to spurn its past mistakes. China Global Television Network. 15 Aug., 2020. URL: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-08-15/Surrender-anniversary-great-time-for-Japan-to-spurn-its-past-mistakes-SYq80T64b6/index.html (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

19. Jansen M. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000. DOI: 10.2307/j.ctvjf9vr7

20. Japan marks 75th surrender anniversary in solemn ceremony thinned by pandemic // The Japan Times. 15 August, 2020. URL: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/08/15/national/75th-anniversary-wwii-surrender/ (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

21. Japan's Shinzo Abe angers neighbours and US by visiting war dead shrine // The Guardian. Dec, 26, 2013. URL: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/26/japan-shinzo-abe-tension-neighbours-shrine (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

22. Jing Yu. Why Did China Add 6 Years to the Second Sino-Japanese War? // The Diplomat. Jan. 20, 2017. URL: https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/why-did-china-add-6-years-to-the-second-sino-japanese-war/ (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

23. Manning R. China and the US-Japan alliance//East Asia Forum. 28 October, 2013. URL: https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/10/28/china-and-the-us-japan-alliance/ (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

24. Orr J. J. The victim as hero: ideologies of peace and national identity in postwar Japan. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2001.

25. Ping Bu. Dialogues on historical issues concerning East Asia // Journal of Modern Chinese History. 2015. Vol. 9. Issue 1. P. 117-129. DOI: 10.1080/17535654.2015.1030819

26. Pollmann M. Erika. Japan’s Security and Historical Revisionism: Explaining the Variation in Responses to and Impact of Textbook Controversies // Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs.2016. Vol. 3. Issue 3. P. 307-336. DOI: 10.1177/2347797016670704

27. Prime Minister of Japan. Statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. August 14, 2015. URL: https://japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/statement/201508/0814statement.html (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).

28. Saito H. Apologies and Denunciations, 1989-1996 // The History Problem: The Politics of War Commemoration in East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2017. P. 74-101.

29. Zhao Suisheng. China’s difficult relations with Japan: Pragmatism, superficial friendship, and historical memories // Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. 2016. Vol. 1. Issue 4. P. 335-353. DOI: 10.1177/2057891116672605

30. Tsujita, M. A Fragile Balance between ‘Normalization’ and the Revival of Nationalistic Sentiments//War and Militarism//Modern Japan: Issues of History and Identity (ed. by Guy Podoler). Folkestone, UK: Global Oriental, 2009. P. 187-198. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9781905246854.i-242.90

31. Why China hasn't forgotten about the war against Japanese aggression // China Global Television Network. 4 Sep., 2020. URL: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-09-03/Xi-delivers-speech-at-symposium-to-mark-WWII-victory-anniversary-Tud3lrn8Y0/index.html (дата обращения: 25.09. 2020).