By Tom Fowdy
Today marks 80 years since the Empire of Japan formally surrendered, and World War II formally came to an end.
The surrender marked the end of an era in Asia, which had been wrought with occupation, colonialism, and severe violence. While in Britain, we celebrate victory, in China and on the Korean peninsula, the event is a more marked occasion because it celebrates liberation, and more so the painful reminiscence of the horrors this period brought.
It is easy to depict the Pacific Theatre of World War II, in the Western perspective, as purely being a conflict between the United States and Japan, with Britain in the mix, but it is much more than that. For China, this conflict is formally known as the "War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression," and for them, this was not just any war, but a war of existential survival which has been fundamental to the shaping of China's contemporary collective identity, worldview, and politics.
While the Qing Dynasty was in a state of decline, the 19th century saw the Empire of Japan rise as a modern industrial great power that could hold its own against the West. With this century being a turning point in Asia, whereby Western colonialism advanced into the continent, Japan reconfigured itself through the Meiji restoration and emulated the nation-state model. In doing so, it began to wage expansionism and military aggression against its neighbours.
First, it seized Taiwan island from China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895. It then forced Korea into a protectorate, before occupying it in full. In 1931, it then staged a false flag event to occupy Manchuria in China's Northeast, before launching a full-scale invasion with the view of occupying China in its entirety in 1937. The two major parties of China, the Nationalists (Kuomintang) and the Communist Party (CPC), put their differences aside to fight for the country in a war of resistance.
It would be throughout this period that the invaders would commit some grave atrocities, such as the Nanjing massacre. These events have made the memories of the war a sensitive topic. While the anniversary of the war is one of triumph, hence the Japanese were never able to defeat or fully occupy the country, it is also one of great pain. The Nanjing massacre and other atrocities have become a rallying point for the national psyche. In South Korea, despite political pressures to align with Tokyo, the feeling is the same.
The experience of Japanese occupation is a collective, shared, trans-generational trauma, and thus it is the memory of perseverance against that and the spirit of resistance which ultimately becomes the spirit of the nation itself, whether that be in China, South Korea, or even North Korea, where without US political alignment, the entire identity of the state has been built on a revolutionary struggle against Japanese Imperialism.
Of course, there are reasons why these memories are more politically and sensitive lasting than those in Europe, where, following the end of Nazi Germany, the continent ultimately made peace with itself. One key reason is the perception that Japan never truly came to terms with, or had to repent for what it had done, leading to a longstanding perception of injustice in the countries that were affected. While the Nazi leadership was denounced, trialled, executed, and jailed, their ideology was banned; Japan underwent no such regime change. Instead, the United States effectively preserved the political status quo in the country with mere window dressing changes. Hirohito was allowed to continue.
Of course, I will conclude by noting that in the cultural sense, I deeply admire modern Japan for the country that it is, and of course, most Chinese and Koreans will agree. Yet, people's modern love for Japanese anime, manga, films, music, kawaii, and its extremely conscientious and polite society cannot change historical realities, nor can they paint over them. Thus, we remember 80 years on that many countries suffered existentially at the hands of Japanese Imperialism, and that these traumatic historical legacies have been integral in the shaping of modern China and the Koreas.
For what is a day of victory, it is truly bittersweet, because of the tremendous cost and human suffering borne by those who sought to wage the war of resistance. Thus, as it is on November 11th in Britain, it is a sacred rite for the Chinese to never forget those who died in the cause of national liberation, and through the atrocities of occupation, we shall remember them.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Tom Fowdy:
Opinion | Will there be any progress made in the Alaska Trump-Putin summit
Opinion | The end of the US-India love in
Opinion | China must step up and save the international trading system
Comment