Problems of Historical Past in Japanese Social and Political Life

The article analyzes the transformation and the present state of evaluation of Japan’s colonial and historical past in this nation’s postwar social and political life. The study of these problems through the lens of their historical development permits one to make the following conclusions. The key element of the memory of World War II is the idea of the Japanese people as a victim of this war. As for the notion of responsibility for the war past, for many decades, it occupied a relatively peripheral place in social consciousness. It became more salient only towards the end of the 20^th century, but the activities of the organizations and politicians who were bringing up these questions produced a reaction from right-wing and revisionist forces, who believed that Japan had to stop endlessly repenting for its past wrongs. By the present moment, a certain equilibrium has formed concerning this issue: as a rule, the ruling conservative forces do not make any openly revisionist statements, but at the same time try not to emphasize the problem of responsibility for the war past. Understating the said specifics is important, among other things, from the point of view of promoting a dialogue on the issues of historical past between Russia and Japan.

Keywords

Japan, historical memory, revisionism, war past, domestic politics

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant No. 19-18-00017 "Problems of the historical past in Japan's relations with the countries of East Asia and Russia. Lessons for Russia").

Received

01.07.2020

Publication date

14.12.2020

Number of characters

42000

Cite

GOST	Nelidov V. Problems of Historical Past in Japanese Social and Political Life // ISTORIYA – 2020. – V. 11. – Issue 12 (98). Part I [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840010390-8-1 (circulation date: 02.10.2024). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840010390-8
MLA	Nelidov, Vladimir "Problems of Historical Past in Japanese Social and Political Life." ISTORIYA 11.12-1 (98) (2020) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840010390-8
APA	Nelidov V. (2020). Problems of Historical Past in Japanese Social and Political Life. ISTORIYA 11(12-1 (98)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840010390-8

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