These disputes over history have bled into popular culture: China plans to mark the anniversary by releasing 20 documentaries, 12 television dramas, and more than 180 plays depicting Japan’s brutality during World War II. China will also host a World War II film festival jointly with Russia to celebrate the “Soviet and Chinese joint victory over German and Japanese aggressors.” Even Hollywood is getting into the act: In honor of the anniversary, a Chinese production house is releasing a $65 million 3-D movie called “The Bombing,” which stars Bruce Willis and counts Mel Gibson as a “creative adviser.”
Meanwhile, nearly 10 million people have flocked to the South Korean film “Assassination” since it opened last month, about Korean independence fighters who team up to kill the commander of Japanese troops. Right-wing politicians in Japan have complained that the flurry of films that demonize Japan raises tensions and complicates diplomatic efforts to create friendlier relations. But Japan has similarly offended its neighbors with the 2013 film “Eternal Zero,” which glorifies kamikaze pilots. Critics in China have called it “propaganda for terrorism.” The movie has become one of the top-grossing Japanese films of all time.
These spats over history — and how it is depicted on the silver screen — reflect the anxieties of today. At a time of domestic unrest in China and disunity in South Korea, politicians find it convenient to whip up nationalist fervor by demonizing an external enemy.
Meanwhile, many in Japan resent the fact that China — which accepted Japan’s development aid when it was poor — is now eclipsing its former colonial master. The desire in Japan to restore self-confidence and even, critics argue, some form of military prowess, led to the election of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is affiliated with an ultranationalist group that expresses nostalgia for imperial Japan.
On Friday, Abe issued a much-anticipated statement that expressed “eternal, sincere condolences” and pledged that Japan would never again follow the path of war and colonial aggression. Yet Abe stopped short of adding his own apology to the words uttered by previous prime ministers.
“No matter what kind of efforts we may make, the sorrows of those who lost their family members and the painful memories of those who underwent immense sufferings by the destruction of war will never be healed,” he said.
That’s a diplomatic way of saying that nothing Japan does will satisfy China and South Korea. Abe may be correct on that point. Nonetheless, he missed an opportunity to show the world that he fully accepts responsibility for Japan’s wartime past. He noted that the “honor and dignity” of women were “severely injured” during the war, but did not express remorse or responsibility regarding the enslavement of Korean “comfort women.” Indeed, he made it clear that the time for saying sorry is over: “We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize.”
That stands in stark contrast to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Dachau, in which Merkel spoke of “Germany’s everlasting responsibility for the horrors of the past.” Until Japan, China, and South Korea see eye-to-eye about the past, it will be difficult to chart a common future.
Related:
• Editorial: Japan must take responsibility for its past