Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific.

• Author: Chung, Lisa M.
• Position: FURTHER READING - Book review

RECONCILIATION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC Yoichi Funabashi, ed. (Washington, DC: U.S. Institute of Peace Press, 2003), 238 pages.

As demonstrated by the massive Spring 2005 protests in China about Japanese textbooks that allegedly whitewashed Japan's wartime atrocities, tensions in East Asia over the interpretation of its conflicted history remain alive and well. Despite the adage that time heals all wounds, the region has not been able to look past currents of underlying distrust and form bonds of cooperation, and Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific asserts that historical reconciliation is not a one-size-fits-all process, but one that is contingent upon the socio-political norms in each country. As a result, reconciliation in the region is an ongoing and adaptive process, and it will remain a critical task for Asia's leaders.

In his piece on Sino-Japanese relations, Daqing Yang argues that Tokyo and Beijing must accept responsibility for their historical problems and that the media and academic communities ought to avoid instigating conflict among the populace. Reconciliation between Japan and China cannot be achieved merely through people-to-people exchanges but requires a long-term commitment by the people and their governments to deep and lasting change.

According to Victor Cha, reconciliation between Japan and Korea requires looking beyond official...