| Project/Area Number |
20K22078
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
0106:Political science and related fields
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
Wang Yi 早稲田大学, 政治経済学術院, 助教 (30880570)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-09-11 – 2023-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥130,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥30,000)
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| Keywords | apology / the history problem / reconciliation / Sino-Japanese relations / social media / history / Apology / Reconciliation / Social media / Political apology / History |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
This research examines China’s societal response to Japan’s apologies over the past wars. It explores how Japan’s apologies are discussed and contested on Chinese social media. It suggests that apologies have made marginal but incremental effects on China’s perception of history and reconciliation.
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The ‘history problem’ has been a long-standing issue affecting the relations between Japan and China. One of the major obstacles to bilateral reconciliation is the negotiation and controversy regarding Japan’s state apologies over the past wars and colonialism. This study explores how Chinese society views Japan’s state apologies regarding the past wrongs. Based on data obtained from social media and interviews, it categorizes Chinese society’s perceptions regarding Japan’s state apologies into three types: the radically nationalistic view, the moderate view, and the alternative view. It reveals that although Japan’s unrepentant image remains to be dominant, Japan’s past apologies have not been made in vain, and have had marginal positive effects in Chinese society. Social media continues to play a key role in this process, such as facilitating access to alternative information and archiving Japan’s past apologies.
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
This study articulates how individuals accept or deny state apologies for the past wrongs and questions the representativeness of the state in the process of reconciliation. It reveals that Japan’s past apologies have not been made in vain, and have had marginal positive effects in Chinese society.
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