The Japanese Movement to "Correct" History

Gavan McCormack

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Why is it that in Japan the question of war responsibility seems to have become more acute as time passes? Following the end of the cold war globally and of Liberal Democratic Party hegemony in the Diet domestically, a particularly sharp debate ensued in the media, Diet, courts, and in the national community in general. As the 1995 commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the war approached, a national consensus in favor of apology, admission of the aggressive and colonial character of the war, and compensation to the victims, gradually took shape. In reaction, a counterforce, repudiating apology and reconciliation and insisting on the absolute purity of the national cause, also emerged. The treatment of the wartime "comfort women" issue became central. This paper considers considers the evolution of the Liberal View of History Study Group and the Society for the Making of New School Textbooks in History. What does it mean that these groups represent themselves as "liberal" and what support do they enjoy? The paper concludes that the movement these organizations represent may be intellectually incoherent, but it possesses a considerable emotional force as the voice of a repressed nationalism, and as such deserves close attention.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)16-23
    Number of pages8
    JournalBulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars
    Volume30
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1998

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The Japanese Movement to "Correct" History'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this