Vulnerability and Resistance to Accept the Expressions of Remorse and Apology in the 20th Century in the Difficult Process of Reconciliation between Japan and South Korea
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.22.2025.95.01Keywords:
Japan, Korea, reconciliation, remorse, apologyAbstract
During the 20th century, Japanese politicians made several attempts to apologize to Koreans for incorporating their territory into Japan, as well as for occupational policies. However, these became insufficient. Stemming from American pressure put onto both nations to reconcile, through few political statements, contemporary Korea and Japan still struggle over their history. This paper aims at analyzing why the expressions of remorse made by the Japanese in the 20th century were insufficient for the Korean side.
Downloads
References
Printed sources
Abe S., “Statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” Asia-Pacific Review, vol. 22, no. 2 (2015), pp. 102-105, https://doi.org/10.1080/13439006.2015.1123132 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13439006.2015.1123132
Austin J.L., How to Do Things with Words, Oxford 1962.
Barbasiewicz O., “Aiming at Reconciliation. Political Leaders, Post-war Lieux de Mémoire, and the Memory Work (Travail de Mémoire) in the Context of the Alliance Between Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea,” Hemispheres, vol. 32 (2017), pp. 5-16.
Barbasiewicz O., “Die deutsch-polnische Annäherung als Vorbild für die japanisch-koreanischen Beziehungen,” in (Un)versöhnt? Gedanken über die deutsch-polnischen Beziehungen nach 1945, herausgegeben von T. Skonieczny, Wrocław 2019, pp. 123-140.
Barbasiewicz O., “How Much Does the Reconciliation Matter?: The Japanese-American Alliance in the Context of Regional Stabilization in East Asia,” in O. Barbasiewicz (ed.), Postwar Reconciliation in Central Europe and East Asia: The Case of Polish-German and Korean‑Japanese Relations, Berlin 2018, pp. 101-121, https://doi.org/10.3726/b13529. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3726/b13529
Barbasiewicz O., “Pamięć o II wojnie światowej w działaniach Związku Pracowników Oświaty Japonii (Nihon Kyōshokuin Kumiai) w kontekście relacji japońsko-amerykańskich,” Studia Polityczne, vol. 46, no. 4 (2018), pp. 31-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35757/STP.2018.46.4.02
Barbasiewicz O., Pomniki i miejsca Pamięci w relacjach międzynarodowych. Wpływ pamięci na stosunki japońsko-amerykańskie z perspektywy Japonii, Warszawa 2016.
Benoit W.L., “Sears’ Repair of Its Auto Service Image: Image Restoration Discourse in the Corporate Sector,” Communication Studies, vol. 46, no. 1-2 (1995), pp. 89-105, https://doi.org/10.1080/10510979509368441. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10510979509368441
David R., Pui Chuen Tam., “Political Apologies and Their Acceptance: Experimental Evidence from Victims and Perpetrators Nations,” British Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 63, no. 1 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12677, pp. 273-294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12677
Drifte R., Japan’s Quest for a Permanent Security-Council Seat: A Matter of Pride or Justice, London 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-07467-6
Dudden A., Troubled Apologies among Japan, Korea and the United States, New York 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7312/dudd14176
Duró Á., “Historical Counter-Narratives: Japanese Christians’ Advocacy for South Korean Atomic Bomb Victims,” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 47, no. 2 (2020), pp. 279-303, http://dx.doi.org/10.18874/jjrs.47.2.2020.279-303. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18874/jjrs.47.2.2020.279-303
Field N., “War and Apology: Japan, Asia, the Fiftieth, and After,” Positions, vol. 5, no. 1, (1997), pp. 1-51, https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-5-1-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-5-1-1
Friedman J., “Myth, History, and Political Identity,” Cultural Anthropology, vol. 7, no. 2 (2009), pp. 194-210, http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/can.1992.7.2.02a00030. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/can.1992.7.2.02a00030
Froese F.J., “Korean Management: Quo Vadis?,” Asian Business & Management, vol. 19 (2020), pp. 145-146, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41291-020-00110-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-020-00110-6
Garfinkel H., “Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies,” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 61, no. 5 (1956), pp. 420-424. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/221800
Goffman E., Relations in Public, New York 1971.
Górski G., “Konstytucja Cesarstwa Japonii z 1889 roku,” Roczniki Nauk Prawnych, vol. 13, no. 1 (2019), pp. 43-52.
Haberman C., “Hirohito Soothes Korean President,” The New York Times, 7 IX 1984, p. 1.
Holmes J., “Apologies in New Zealand English,” Language in Society, vol. 19, no. 2 (1990), pp. 155-199, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500014366. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500014366
Kalbermatten P., Schindler Elevators and the Challenges of the Japanese Market, in: P. Haghirian, P. Gagnon (eds), Case Studies in Japanese Management, Singapore 2011, pp. 203-229, https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814340885_0011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814340885_0011
Katsiaficas G., Asia’s Unknown Uprisings: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century, Oakland 2012.
Kim Hong Nack, „Japan’s Relations with North Korea,” Current History, vol. 90, no. 555 (1991), pp. 164-180. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.1991.90.555.164
Kisztelińska-Węgrzynska A., “Wizyta Willy’ego Brandta w Polsce w dniach 6-8 grudnia 1970 roku w świetle ówczesnej prasy polskiej,” Rocznik Polsko-Niemiecki/Deutsch-Polnisches Jahrbuch, vol. 17 (2009), pp. 29-53, https://doi.org/10.35757/RPN.2009.17.02. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35757/RPN.2009.17.02
Kotani M., “A Discourse Analytic Approach to the Study of Japanese Apology: The ‘Feel-Good’ Apology as a Cultural Category,” in N. Sugimoto (ed.), Japanese Apology Across Disciplines, New York 1999.
Kuki S., “The Burden of History: The Issue of ‘Comfort Women’ and What Japan Must Do To Move Forward,” Journal of International Affairs, vol. 67, no. 1 (2013), pp. 245-256.
Kula M., Między przeszłością a przyszłością. O pamięci, zapominaniu i przewidywaniu, Poznań 2004.
Lee Chong-sik, “Japanese-Korean Relations in Perspective,” Pacific Affairs, vol. 35, no. 4 (1962/1963), pp. 315-326, https://doi.org/10.2307/2753141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2753141
Lind J., Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics, Ithaca–London 2008.
Pletnia M., Pamięć zbiorowa o wojnie na Pacyfiku w powojennej Japonii, Kraków 2019.
“Report of the Advisory Panel on the History of the 20th Century and on Japan’s Role and World Order in the 21st Century,” The Advisory Panel on the History of the 20th Century and on Japan’s Role and World Order in the 21st Century, 6 VIII 2015.
Schaafsma J., Zoodsma M., Sagherian-Dickey T., Friedrich J., “These Are Not Just Words: A Cross-national comparative Study of the Content of Political Apologies,” International Review of Social Psychology, vol. 34, no. 1 (2001), pp. 1-13, https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.503. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.503
Tavuchis N., Mea Culpa: A Sociology of Apology and Reconciliation, Stanford 1991.
Thomas J., Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics, London 1995.
Togo K., “The Historical Role and Future Implications of the Murayama Statement: A View from Japan,” in K. Togo (ed.), Japan and Reconciliation in Post-war Asia: The Murayama Statement and Its Implications, New York 2013, pp. 1-22, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137301239_1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137301239_1
Yamazaki J., Japanese Aplogies for World War II, New York 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203002056
Internet sources
“1998 Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration: A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century,” MOFA Japan, at https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asiapaci/korea/joint9810.html.
“Committee on Foreign Affairs,” House of Representatives, 18 IV 1990, at http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp/SENTAKU/syugiin/118/0110/11804180110003.pdf.
“The Constitution of Japan,” Prime Minister Of Japan and His Cabinet, at https://japan.kantei.go.jp/constitution_and_government_of_japan/constitution_e.html.
“Elderly Japanese Man Begs for Forgiveness from Sex Slave Victims,” allkpop, at https://www.allkpop.com/article/2016/10/elderly-japanese-man-begs-for-forgiveness-from-sex-slavevictims.
Gu Gyo-hyeong, “‘I Am Speechless,’ Murayama Lets Out a Stream of Sighs after Viewing the Comfort Women Exhibition,” The Kyunghyang Shinmun, 12 II 2014, at https://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201402121405237&code=710100.
Jeam-ri Massacre, at https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/jeam-ri-massacre/agEYL23PS76dlQ.
“Memorial Service for Jeam-ri Massacre on Thursday,” The Chosunilbo, 28 II 2001, at http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2001/02/28/2001022861419.html.
Ser Myo-ja, “Lee Tells Japanese Emperor to Apologize,” Korea JoongAng Daily, 14 VIII 2014, at https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2012/08/14/politics/Lee-tells-Japanese-emperorto-apologize/2957923.html.
“South Korea: Japanese Christians Apologise for a Massacre 100 Years Ago,” asianews, at http://www.asianews.it/news-en/South-Korea:-Japanese-Christians-apologise-for-a-massacre-100-years-ago-46391.html.
“Speech by Prime Minister Hosokawa Morihiro, 23.08.1993,” Sekai to Nihon (World and Japan), at https://worldjpn.net/documents/texts/pm/19930823.SWE.html.
“Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kiichi Miyazawa on History Textbooks,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 VIII 1982, at https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/rp/page25e_000351.html.
“Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama ‘On the Occasion of the 50thAanniversary of the War’s End’ (15 August 1995),” Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at https://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html.
Statista, at https://www.statista.com/.
“Yoi Inshō-o motte iru ryū” (Reasons for Having a Good Reputation), in Dai rokkai Nikkan kyōdō Yoronchōsa. Nikkan Yoron Hikaku kekka (6th Japan-Korea Public Opinion Survey: Results of the Japan-Korea Public Opinion Comparison), The Genron NPO, East Asia Institute, 2018, at http://www.genron-npo.net/world/archives/6941.html.
“Yoi Inshō-o motte iru ryū” (Reasons for Having a Good Reputation), in Dai juuikkai Nikkan kyōdō Yoronchōsa. Nikkan Yoron Hikaku kekka (11th Japan-Korea Public Opinion Survey: Results of the Japan-Korea Public Opinion Comparison), The Genron NPO, East Asia Institute, 2023, at https://www.genron-npo.net/world/archives/16656-2.html.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
