Editorial
Japan, China urged to take further steps in joint history research
Japanese and Chinese experts have compiled and released a report on the first joint research project they conducted on history. It is regrettable that its section describing the post-World War II period and the excerpts of their discussions are being withheld at the request of Chinese experts. Nevertheless, the move by the Japan-China Joint History Research Committee should be hailed as both countries, which have a bitter legacy from World War II, confronted historical facts and compiled a report.
The joint research was initiated by 10 Japanese and 10 Chinese historians appointed to the committee in December 2006, following an agreement reached between then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao two months earlier.
Bilateral relations worsened during the tenure of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi because he regularly visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine where Class A war criminals are enshrined along with the war dead, which prevented Japanese and Chinese leaders from holding summit talks. Therefore, the two countries attempted to separate the historical issue from politics by leaving the matter to discussions by experts from these two countries.
In their report, Japanese and Chinese experts describe their views on ancient and modern history involving the two countries. While the report suggests that committee members from both countries tried hard to reach a compromise over their interpretation of history involving the war, they still failed to narrow the gap over various matters.
Regarding the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937 that triggered the Sino-Japanese war, Japanese experts said the initial shooting occurred accidentally, while their Chinese counterparts also pointed to the possibility that the incident took place accidentally. Moreover, Chinese historians pointed out that Japan's defeat in the war was a turning point in history and that the people of Japan began to go on a new path toward peace and development. This should be regarded as a more flexible viewpoint than previously reflected.
The Chinese team repeatedly pointed out in the report that the Sino-Japanese war was Japan's aggression against China. The Japanese team also pointed out that Japan is primarily responsible for the war that left deep scars in China, the battlefield in the war.
However, Japanese and Chinese experts remain at odds over their perception of the casualties in the notorious Nanking Massacre in 1937. Chinese historians put the casualties at over 300,000 based on the ruling in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and other data. On the other hand, their Japanese counterparts pointed out that there have been various estimates, such as 20,000 and 40,000, with the maximum being 200,000.
It goes without saying that efforts to bridge the perception gap between the two countries over their interpretations of history face many difficulties, as was shown by the fact that the report's description of post-war history, including the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989, as well as the excerpts of their discussions, are being withheld.
A Japanese member of the joint research committee pointed out that Chinese researchers avoided touching on the evaluation of the Tiananmen Square Incident and other issues that could raise questions about the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party leadership.
Japan and China have agreed to appoint new experts to the committee to conduct second-phase joint historical research. Bu Ping, Chinese chairman of the joint research committee, said that the new committee members will take over the research on the post-war history in the second-phase joint research project. The committee is urged to fully release the results of their second-phase research on post-war history so that not only historians but the people of the two countries can also share a common view on it.
(Mainichi Japan) February 3, 2010