Von der Bundesrepublik lernen? : Der Vergleich mit Deutschland in der japanischen Diskussion über Kriegsschuld und Vergangenheitsbewältigung

Since the early 1980s, the comparison with the “German model of mastering the past” has become an important aspect of the Japanese discussion on war guilt. The 1982 textbook scandal in particular forced Japan to confront the legacy of its wartime past for the sake of its diplomatic relations with China and Korea. This article analyses the impact of the “German model” on the debate in Japan using three case studies: the 1982 textbook scandal, the official commemoration at the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, and the question of compensation payments to war victims. The comparison with Germany in this debate falls into three basic patterns: – Enthusiasm for the German model (especially the famous speech of former president von Weizsäcker) combined with harsh criticism of the prevailing attitude towards Japan’s militaristic past seen in Japanese politics and society. This argument does not offer any solutions to Japan’s problems with its neighbors. – Nationalistic refusal to compare Japan’s history with the “absolute evil” of Nazi terror. This approach is based on an affirmative view of Japan’s past and tends to deny or diminish the need for reconciliation with Japan’s former enemies and colonies. Such a view of history implies a tendency towards isolationism for present-day Japan. Although this kind of revisionism has lost much of its former influence on Japanese politics, it is still able to prevent a more active stewardship of war guilt and compensation. – The search for a home-grown approach to reconciliation with the Asian peoples invaded and colonized by the Imperial Japanese army, an approach which would oppose both the eurocentrism and nationalism of the first two patterns. A small group of citizen activists is eager to learn from German achievements as well as from its failures. However, this kind of grass-roots movement is still too weak to influence Japanese politics.