Merkel’s visit can guide Japan toward politics of heartfelt repentance

By Carolynn Look Source:Global Times Published: 2015-3-5 23:38:01

From March 9 to 10, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Japan, where the countries' leaders will discuss counterterrorism, the Ukraine conflict and bilateral issues. The last time Merkel visited Japan was seven years ago for a G8 summit in Hokkaido, meaning that diplomatic talks are long overdue.

This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and people across the globe are expecting commemorative events throughout the year. Although Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Merkel have not officially announced their intention to address issues of their countries' atonements, current geopolitical issues in Europe and Asia certainly draw attention to how differently the two nations have dealt with the aftermath of their roles in WWII.

Although Europe is certainly no lovefest, with economic crisis igniting tensions and creating an uncertain future for the EU, East Asia's diplomatic relations have never reached the same level of integration as in postwar Europe. Over the past 70 years, it has been very important for Germany to win back the trust of its European neighbors.

Meanwhile, demands for an apology and further compensation have been a recurring topic in Korean and Chinese politics. According to an article in The Japan Times in 2013, 98 percent of South Koreans and 78 percent of Chinese don't think Japan has sufficiently apologized for its military actions in the 1930s and 40s.

Of course, the issues of guilt, atonement, and apologies in international politics raise complicated theoretical and philosophical questions. Can guilt, or responsibility, be passed on to future generations? Can a collective be laden with guilt, and, if so, what kind of guilt? How can guilt be forgiven?

One might argue that only individuals such as the murderers themselves can be considered guilty, rather than society in general or future descendants of perpetrators. Under this lens, it is not possible for Germany to experience collective guilt with regard to its war crimes, except if one accepts the idea that eliminationist anti-Semitism was present in virtually all of German society at the time, leading inextricably to the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Twentieth century political theorist Hannah Arendt, however, argued that while guilt is a personal experience which cannot transcend generations, there is nonetheless a "collective responsibility" which is inherited. What shame achieves in an individual, an awareness of responsibility for evil, must be addressed politically and in a space of plurality in order to develop a collective awareness of human capacity for evil.

Collective responsibility can thus allow us to recognize that even if the guilt of a criminal act is limited to a particular individual, we must be vigilant against our human propensity to participate in evil.

Just as successes, cultural traditions, literature, World Cup victories and other joys transcend generations, citizens of nations also inherit their forefathers' debts, mistakes and the darkest pages of their history books. Germany has faced a collective responsibility to engage with its past, even one that is very distinct from its present.

There is a misconception that there have been virtually no attempts whatsoever by the Japanese to improve their relations with China. In fact, China turned down war reparations in the 1970s. However, Japan's efforts to not only apologize, but also to keep their wrongdoings in the realm of collective memory have hardly matched those of Germany.

The various instances in 1975, 1995 and 2001 in which Japanese prime ministers issued what they considered an apology are deemed by Chinese to be insincere or impractical. At times, they have lacked the explicit mention of the word "apology," or they failed to explicitly mention China as the victim of Japanese aggression, and never has an apology been written down in an official document. Subsequent nationalist rhetoric and visits to the Yasukuni Shrine also call the apologies into question. 

Japan's passive efforts remind me somewhat of postwar German chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who, despite being hailed as a national hero, was somewhat meagre at apologies. Germany's first formal statement of regret was delivered by him in 1951, but was hardly more than an act of evasion of guilt. In it, he removed the blame from the general German populace, claiming that a small group had committed unspeakable crimes on their behalf and that "the large majority of the German people abhorred the crimes and did not participate in them," thus painting them as victims.

Although it did not contain words, Willy Brandt, a later chancellor, made a far more meaningful statement when he fell to his knees in a gesture of humility and penance in front of a monument to the Nazi-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1970. Of course, there have been many more formal declarations since then, but it was this heartfelt, emotional act that initiated a long path of recovery.

The picture with Japan is certainly very complicated, but perhaps it is this level of emotional and ethical engagement its East Asian neighbors long for. Merkel's visit could serve as an opportunity for Japan to reconsider the darker pages of its history.

The author is a freelance writer from Germany, who divides her time between London and Berlin. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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