Lanham; Boulder; New York; London: Lexington Books [an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.], 2018. xxviii, 165 pp. US$89.99, cloth. ISBN 978-1-4985-6769-5.
This fascinating book originates from a symposium hosted by the “Memory and Reconciliation in the Asia Pacific” program at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. It explores “anniversary politics”—that is, the political dimensions of how communities designate anniversaries and determine how to observe them—focusing on 2015 as a key “anniversary moment” in the Asia-Pacific region, marking 70 years since the end of World War II. Following a forward by Akira Iriye and introduction by editors Daqing Yang and Mike Mochizuki, the book offers eight case studies (China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, the United States, and Russia), and concludes with comparative insights drawn from Germany. These chapters collectively employ anniversary politics as a lens to discern the dynamics of identity formation, nation building, and regional relations. As the editors observe, “conflicts about historical memory in Northeast Asia still have major consequences for international politics” (xxii).
The first chapter, “China: Meanings and Contradictions of Victory” by Daqing Yang is particularly strong. Yang begins by briefly reviewing and historicizing the evolution (in the People’s Republic of China) of WWII “memory culture” over the past 60-plus years; proceeds to analyze commemorative events in 2015 and the months leading up to that anniversary year (in the Chinese case, its “biggest ever” military parade); then speaks to the meaning and significance of the events in question. This coherent three-part structure is consistently followed for the most part in subsequent chapters. On the evolution of memory culture, Yang notes that “the greatest change in the official narrative” occurred back in 1985 “when Beijing began to portray the War as a struggle by the entire Chinese nation [including the Kuomintang] against Japanese invasion” (4). He also tells us that anti-Japanese “patriotic education” has been intensified under President Xi Jinping, noting that in “August 2014, the Chinese government designated 80 National Memorial Sites of the War throughout the country, and added another 100 sites a year later” (5). Yang is an astute analyst, and careful readers will surely find much food for thought in his discussion of the “Great Military Parade (da yuebin)” that unfolded with much pomp and pageantry on Victory Day (September 3). As for the significance of the parade, Yang ultimately judges mixed results. Leaders from major Western states as well as Japan and Taiwan declined invitations to attend. Moreover, international media coverage tended to depict “the victory parade as … evidence of China’s turn toward hyper-nationalism and aggressiveness” (12). On the other hand, the parade was arguably a “success” in projecting to domestic Chinese audiences “a powerful image of the unity among the leadership under Xi” (13).
Another excellent chapter is “The United States: Remembrance without Recrimination,” by Marc Gallicchio. In 2015, American commemorations of the Asia-Pacific War were rather muted, “characterized by a solemn, somber tone, and a touch of nostalgia” (109). Gallicchio points to several contextual factors: one is the “fading” of memories since the “generation that fought the war is passing from the scene” and American popular culture has long tended to celebrate battles in Europe more than those that were waged in the vast Pacific theater; another factor is war weariness. By 2015, “after more than a decade of two wars that were at best inconclusive, Americans were uninterested in making the anniversary of V-J Day an occasion for summoning the nation to great military endeavors” (110). Thus absent from speeches were exhortations to American exceptionalism or calls to join global struggles against tyranny and terror that had marked WWII anniversaries back in 1995 and 2005. Of course, those earlier commemorations occurred not long after the fall of the Soviet Union and the 9/11 attacks, respectively. A third contextual factor is the enduring good relations with its former antagonist, Japan. Accordingly, “American commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of the 15-year Asia-Pacific War took place in a political climate that was a far cry from the situation in Asia where political officials remained on high alert for rhetorical miscues and signs of resurgent militarism” (114). This is not to say that US anniversary activities were entirely free of controversy. Indeed, the main commemorative event that Gallicchio discusses in this chapter—President Barack Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, the first ever by a sitting US president—inspired much debate and criticism, especially from the political right.
Overall, every chapter offers numerous insights, and the book makes an important contribution to the growing literature on memory and Asia-Pacific reconciliation. The only quibble I have is that some of the most interesting methodological/theoretical issues raised in the introductory chapter are not fully developed in the rest of the book. For example, the editors point out that “the vast majority” of people now learn about World War II “overwhelmingly second-hand” from sources such as “textbooks, mass media, museums, and memorials” (xx). While mass-mediated popular culture or museums are mentioned in several chapters—most noticeably perhaps in the aforementioned chapter by Marc Gallicchio—these instances tend to be brief and left me wanting more. The editors also discuss Paul Connerton’s How Societies Remember, noting that Connerton “questioned the dominant practice in memory studies that focus on inscribed, or written, transmissions of memories, and instead called for a focus on incorporated, or bodily, practices” (xx). Again, though certain chapters—such as Yang’s on the PRC and Ricardo T. Jose’s on the Philippines—do in fact comment on “ritual” and “performative” dimensions of anniversary commemorations, the majority hew closer to a more traditional political analysis of statements by elite actors. That said, I recommend this book highly. Ask your university librarian to order a copy and consider purchasing one for your personal collection. At a concise 165 pages, it should also work well in the classroom. Despite its focus on 2015, the book remains relevant today as we approach the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, and will remain relevant as long as contested memories of this great conflict shape prospects for reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chiho Sawada
Holy Names University, Oakland, USA