Японские исследования (Dec 2020)
Japanese aggression in China and the feeling of guilt
Abstract
The influence of historical memory about Japanese aggression in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) on contemporary Japan-China relations is still very noticeable. Therefore, it is important to look into fundamental reasons for the long-lasting disagreement between the countries on the events of the war. The key here is to understand why Chinese society still believes that the Japanese side has not fully realized the tragedy of the events and has not sufficiently apologized for its military actions, while Japanese people are displeased with constant reminders from China about the past. The article seeks to address this controversy and to clarify whether the feeling of guilt could be seen in post-war Japan and how and whether it was expressed on different levels, from the Emperor to common Japanese people. The article is divided into two main sections. The first section is focused on the problems of moral and material compensation to China after the war: the process of settling these issues is described, while putting an emphasis on the circumstances which led to major problems in mutual understanding and acceptance of Japan’s apologies by China. In the second section, the development of historical memory in Japan in the post-war decades is investigated. After analyzing Chinese and Japanese sources, the author comes to the conclusion that, in addition to the mentioned issues with apologies and reparations, gradual fading away of historical memory in Japan after the war (partially caused by the post-war social trauma) also contributed to the understanding that the feeling of guilt in Japanese society was not sufficient. At the same time, visiting Yasukuni Shrine to commemorate the souls of those who died for the Emperor does not necessarily mean that Japanese people do not feel guilty for the aggression.
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