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I was in Osaka and Tokyo from November 19 to 23 attending a conference for evaluating the activities of Korean and Japanese civil society groups concerning Japanese history textbooks as well as the 8th Forum on Historical Understanding and East Asian Peace. It was an important business trip. However, the trip was also personally meaningful because I got to experience the monumental changes sweeping Japanese civil society.

My work with Japanese civil society started over a decade ago with the issue of Japanese military "comfort women." Thereafter, I have worked on many other issues with Japanese civil society groups and activists.

My observations and interactions with Japanese civil society and civil society activists have been an opportunity to reflect upon not just myself but also Korean civil society.

Some may consider the sweeping changes in Japanese civil society trivial. However, if private exchanges are considered important in resolving Northeast Asia's historical conflicts, the changes are, in fact, very significant.

The first of such changes has to do with the average age of civil society activists. In the past, 50-70 year-olds comprised a large majority of staff working at Japanese civil society events. With an armband that read "volunteer" on their left arm, they handed out flyers, helped people register.

It worried me that there was a conspicuous lack of young people in Japanese civil society. Things have changed, however. At the 8th annual Peace Forum, Meiji University students helped out as staff members. It is also worth noting and lauding that they put together a small seminar to discuss their thoughts on historical conflicts in Northeast Asia and the means by which their ideas can be implemented.

Perhaps it has been some time since youth participation in Japanese civil society began to grow. I might not have noticed the changes from the onset given that Korea has become the center of mainstream exchanges between Korean, Chinese, and Japanese civil societies since around 2003 and 2004. Nevertheless, what is certain is that Japanese civil society has changed. It has become younger! There is new hope!

Younger and more active network, a green light for a Northeast Asian community

The second change is that Japanese civil society has become interested in not only pursuing a single objective or source but also in forging connections and building a network. This is not to say how Korean civil society operates is necessarily desirable?dealing with a vast array of issues and regions at a time. This can be effective, however, in quickly and efficiently gathering resources. Japanese civil society had not been able to do that.

Japanese civil society still consists of groups, each of which focuses on a specific region and issue. For instance, even just in terms of the issue of Japanese military "comfort women," there are highly specialized subgroups: one handles lawsuits, another provides everyday support and assistance to the victims, and yet another supports related exchanges. What has changed is that these groups are now more eager to join forces, become members of a shared network for certain issues that require collaboration for greater efficiency, and feel a sense of belonging with the larger movement. This change in Japanese civil society is expected to accelerate in 2010, the centennial of the onset of Japan's colonization of Korea.

The Korea-China-Japan Peace Forum was inaugurated eight years ago in response to the historical distortions in Japanese history textbooks. Since then, the Peace Forum has produced joint Korean-Chinese-Japanese educational materials and created a unique culture of trilateral dialogue and harmony. If such efforts can be sustained over the long term, a shared historical understanding and a peaceful Northeast Asia may actually not be a far-fetched dream.