뉴스레터

Japan is threatening peace within the region with its recent move to reinterpret its pacifist constitution to allow itself to participate in wars, Against this backdrop, the Korean and Japanese NGOs hosted the 2014 Coordinating Committee Meeting for the International NGOs Conference on History and Peace in Tokyo, Japan. Organized jointly by International NGO History Forum and Korea-Japan Civic Action Council (Korea) and Korea-Japan Reconstruction Campaign 2015 Executive Committee (Japan), this meeting was held from the 20th to the 23rd of June 2014 under the theme "The Overcoming of the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty System and Peace in East Asia" and aimed at exploring action plans to resolve historical conflicts between Korea and Japan and establish peace in East Asia, on the occasion of the approaching 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In the opening addresses, the organizers hoped that this meeting, being a meaningful occasion to look back on the last fifty years and prepare for years ahead, would also bring together the expertise and experience accumulated over the years through activities in various fields and begin to explore better action plans for establishing peace in East Asia.

Korea and Japan Should Take the Initiative in Laying Out a New Framework for Cooperation

In the ensuing international symposium on 'The Overcoming of the 1965 "Korea-Japan Treaty System" and Peace in East Asia,' Utsumi Aiko (內海愛子), a professor emeritus at Keisen University, took the podium as a keynote speaker, arguing that "since the demage caused by colonial rule had not been addressed in the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty, it was necessary to reexamine the victims' claims based at least on some material made public." The second keynote speaker, Professor at HUFS Lee Jang-hee, stressed that before the historical war in East Asia could be ended, Japan must acknowledge its legal responsibility for colonial rule first. Gavan McCormack, the third speaker and a professor at the Australian National University, argued that the U.S had been heavily involved in the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty despite its being an official treaty forged between the two countries, and that in order to achieve a genuine reconciliation between Korea and Japan, all the related material should be made public and the two countries should take the initiative in laying out a new framework for cooperation. Finally, Elazar Barkan, a professor at Columbia University, noted that civil society needed to be engaged in continued historical dialogue before the historical conflicts in East Asia could be resolved. and proposed that politics could also do its part by reflecting in policy the efforts of scholars who conducted their studies while challenging the views driven by nationalism and the logic of civil society.

In addition, the expert workshop addressed history education and the textbook issue, and discussed education plans to teach the right perception of history. On Day 2, the East Asian Youth Forum welcomed about twenty young participants from Korea and Japan, who shared their historical perception while debating such topics as 'comfort women,' hate speech, Yasukuni, and ethnic Koreans residing in Japan, and discussed the roles of youths in establishing peace in East Asia.

Held against the backdrop of the recently intensifying historical conflict between Korea and Japan, 'History NGO Conference in Tokyo-The Overcoming of the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty System and Peace in East Asia' was an occasion for the citizens of Korea and Japan to band together, seeking the right perception of history and calling for efforts to work toward establishing peace in East Asia. It was also a meaningful event that explored ideas to redefine Korea-Japan relations with the upcoming 50th anniversary of the normalization of the bilateral diplomatic ties that had come about with the conclusion of the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty.