Arguments over the past among nations are a sure sign of anxieties about the future. East Asia's shared history generates and amplifies antagonisms in ways that poison regional relations, cloud the future and powerfully shape how governments cope with contemporary crises. Anti-Japanese outbursts in China in recent years demonstrate just how much the past matters as tempers flare over textbooks that downplay Japanese atrocities and provocative gestures such as Former Prime Minister Koizumi's six visits to Yasukuni Shrine. They also reflect the consequences of Beijing's emphasis on patriotic education vilifying Japan.
The editors remind us that the prospects for enhanced regional cooperation are dim because "A specter is haunting East Asia, a specter of the memories of the past, resurrected by the resurgence of nationalism." They argue that these rival nationalisms are on a collision course because "the past is haunting the present, aborting as stillborn any hope of reconciliation."
This volume features 12 chapters by 11 authors from Korea, China, Japan and the United States that focus on the hot-button history problems that divide Northeast Asia. The breadth of coverage based on in-depth and objective scholarly analysis helps readers understand why recriminations over the past trump efforts to create a regional community.