[09.10.31 l.A Times] South Korea and Japan consider history textbook with China

渔音谦谦

Considering how differently each country sees major issues in theirpasts, the obstacles are huge. But such a joint book could go a longway toward mending fences, Japan's foreign minister says


In the past, neighboring countries have criticized Japan for itsefforts to whitewash its colonial occupations. South Koreans angry atwhat they see as distortions in Japanese textbooks burn a Japanese flagoutside Tokyo's consulate in Pusan, July 2001. (STR, Reuters / July 12, 2001)


Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul -                                     Severalpoliticians in South Korea and Japan have begun exploring thepossibility of a joint history textbook between their nations andChina. But given the lingering differences over issues ranging frompast wars to current territorial claims, the proposal faces numeroushurdles.

Members of South Korea's ruling Grand National Party met informally inSeoul this month with counterparts from the majority Democratic Partyof Japan. One of the main topics was whether a joint history textbookcould now be developed with government cooperation.

Kang Yong-seok, a GNP lawmaker, was among the South Korean politicians who approached the Japanese.

"We [told DPJ] members that it would be very meaningful to write acommon textbook," Kang said, citing a history textbook created throughGerman-French cooperation.

"We didn't think the idea was impossible, but the countries have beenunable to agree on historical matters," said DPJ member Masashi Mito."We agreed to revisit and delve into the differences of historicalperspectives and look into how realistic such a project can be."

Unrelated to the talks between the politicians, Japanese ForeignMinister Katsuya Okada told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents'Club this month that a trilateral textbook could help mend fences onhistorical matters.

"It would be ideal for the [three] nations to have a common textbook,although actually taking that route may be far off," Okada said.

His comments received a favorable response in Seoul.

"We highly appreciate Foreign Minister Okada's suggestion, consideringthat it is important for younger generations in Korea, China and Japanto have a correct understanding of history," South Korean ForeignMinister Yu Myung-hwan said at a news briefing.

In the past, neighboring countries have criticized Japan for itsefforts to whitewash its colonial occupations. But the DPJ, whichrecently rose to power in Japan, has a different outlook.

For example, it has opposed the former ruling party's officialvisits to the Yasukuni shrine, where many of the nation's veterans areburied, including convicted war criminals. Prime Minister YukioHatoyama's pledge to not pay homage at the shrine has been welcomed byother Asian nations.

"It is a leap that Japan started talking about this issue publicly,"said Yang Mi-gang, who worked on a privately publishedKorea-Japan-China history book available in each of the countries.

The book, "History That Opens the Future," was written by several dozenscholars from China, South Korea and Japan in 2005, and revised in 2006.

"Writing a common textbook at the government level is daunting becauseall of those participating in this may act as if they wererepresentatives from national [sports] teams," Yang said.

Zhixin Wang, an education professor at St. Thomas University nearOsaka, Japan, participated from the Chinese side for the book Yangworked on.

"I think a joint history textbook might be a near-impossibility in thepresent climate," Wang said. "The countries will have to work outdisputed claims over the islands of Senkaku [known as Diaoyutai inChina] or the islands of Takeshima [known as Dokdo in South Korea]."

The territorial disputes are exACerbated by potentially rich undersea oil and gas fields.

Kimihiko Sato, a history professor at Tokyo University of ForeignStudies, said obstacles between Japan and South Korea might be easierto resolve than those between Japan and China.

"One problem is Chinese scholars cannot freely state their opinions,and it's very difficult to formulate a unified view with them," Satosaid.

The Japan-China Joint History Research Committee is a prime example.Formed by scholars in 2006, the panel held its third and most recentmeeting in January 2008. A fourth meeting was set for last September,but the Chinese side abruptly canceled a day before the event.

Shinichi Kitaoka, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo, is the co-chair of the committee.

"The Chinese told us, 'We can't tell you the reason why we need to postpone,' " Kitaoka said.

Japan hopes the meeting can be rescheduled before year's end.

Son Seung-cheul, a history professor at Kangwon National University anda member of the South Korea-Japan committee, which began work in 2002,said that talks between China and Japan bogged down over differingviews on the Nanking massacre.

In that atrocity, tens of thousands of Chinese civilians andsoldiers in and around the city -- now known as Nanjing -- were rapedand killed by the Imperial Japanese Army beginning in late 1937.

Son also noted that Germany and France's common textbook came decadesafter the nations began broad talks over their relations, with thefirst volume finally published in 2006. The Asian project could besimilarly drawn out.

The best approach is to have projects at the private level, amongscholars, and leave the government out of it, said Sato, the Tokyoprofessor.

GNP lawmaker Kang said one way to do that would be for the threecountries to write their own perspectives for one book, or to eachdescribe their own country's historical events.

"Some might see this plan as difficult to realize," Kang said."However, once details are laid out, related government ministrieswould move in with sufficient funds from three states."

Park is a news assistant in The Times' Seoul Bureau and Nagano is a special correspondent.


原文地址：http://www.latimes.com/news/nati ... extbook30-2009oct30,0,4885487.story