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Replicating Atonement pp 25–46Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

A Japan that Cannot Say Sorry?

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies ((PMMS))

Abstract

The idea that Japan is uniquely unable to apologize for its WWII crimes has become a truism. Seraphim shows that contrasting Japan to Germany in moral terms grew out of a global politics of atonement in the 1990s deployed in service of contemporary political interests irrespective of historical realities. While the Japanese liberal left used it to pressure its government to articulate a politics of reconciliation, it became the staple of a new popular nationalism in China. South Korean civil groups exercised their newly won democratic rights to sue Japan for apologies and compensation. Belated attention to Japanese crimes provided Chinese and Korean Americans with a new identity. Seraphim argues that at their worst, the ahistorical uses of the Germany–Japan comparison provide ammunition to Japanese nationalists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston College, Boston, MA, USA

    Franziska Seraphim

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  1. Franziska Seraphim
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Correspondence to Franziska Seraphim .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Einstein Forum, Potsdam, Germany

    Mischa Gabowitsch

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Seraphim, F. (2017). A Japan that Cannot Say Sorry?. In: Gabowitsch, M. (eds) Replicating Atonement . Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65027-2_2

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