Can Nations Forgive? : Japan, Korea, and China Remember the Past and Face the Future

Abstract

Throughout the world we can observe numerous cases of prolonged animosity among nations. Even though most do not degenerate into warfare, these instances of national hatred make it seem as if international reconciliation is an unattainable dream, and that the most we can do is manage conflict so that all-out war does not erupt. These conflicts often involve historical national enemies, who keep alive memories of some abuse in the past. It is not uncommon that later generations feel the anger more acutely than the people who initially were wronged. Political forces can deliberately fan the flames of bitter memory in order to foster national unity and secure the favor of their domestic constituencies. This study reviews the historical abuses that today divide Japan, China, and Korea. War memory and colonial memory impede neighborly friendship, the settlement of territorial disputes, and the formation of needed security frameworks in East Asia. Drawing from the field of peace research, the author posits the need for restorative justice rather than retributive justice, and explores five processes that must be completed before “deep interstate reconciliation” will occur in the East Asian context: truth telling, bringing wrongdoers to justice, reparation, contrition and apology, and forgiveness. Some of the processes have taken place. Forgiveness completes the process of reconciliation. In forgiving, a nation sets aside bitter feelings about the past and treats a wrongdoer people as a nation in good standing. International forgiveness is rarely explicit, but usually takes place implicitly over a period of time. This study treats some historical examples of implicit forgiveness. What steps can Korea, China, and Japan take to achieve international forgiveness?