한국 강제병합 100년과 일본 사회의 동향

Abstract

2010 marks the Centennial of Imperial Japan’s annexation of the Korean Peninsula. It must be an important concern to Koreans how Japan commemorated this anniversary. Japan was the mother country of colonial Korea from 1910 to 1945. This paper will examine the current Korean-Japanese relationship 100 years after this dark period. In 2010,Northeast Asia witnessed significant perturbations including conflict between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands, the emergence of China over Japan to become the world’s number two economic power,and increased military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Given the current dynamics it remains interesting to note how Japan commemorated the anniversary of the annexation of Korea. According to Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper and South Korea’s Hanguk ilbo polls, Japanese citizens recognize South Korea’s recent economic development, and as a result take an optimistic view towards the prospects of better South Korea-Japan relations. South Korean and Japanese citizens in their twenties and thirties, however, believe there are invisible barriers to improving relations. Japanese civic groups engaged in a wide variety of activities to commemorate the anniversary. Additionally, Koreans resident in Japan as well as Japanese intellectuals were at the center of activities. A surprising number of intellectuals agreed with the joint statement announced by both Korean and Japanese scholars which paralleled the Pyongyang Declaration in 2002 which required the government of Japan to recognize the illegality and imposition of the 1910 Annexation Treaty and to declare it null. Prime Minister Kan Naoto responded to the intellectuals by making a special statement on August 10 the anniversary of the 10, treaty signing. Unfortunately, from the Korean perspective, the statement fell short of taking full responsibility as the intellectuals had desired. The statement also excluded North Korea on purpose. Several newspapers and broadcasters organized special programs for the centennial anniversary, and through that reporting the differences in historical perspective in the Japanese press were easily discernible. NHK’s special program series “Japan and the Korean Peninsula” caused disputes among scholars but was a sensation in Japan. The special program reflected recent views of South Korea’s and Japan’s academic worlds to include the study of Ito Hirobumi and his role in the annexation. Major academic journals and symposiums devoted much effort to discussing all aspects of the 1910 Annexation Treaty - from its validity to the realities and repercussions of Japanese colonial rule. This was a different trend from that of the past. Some Japanese diminish the importance of the aforementioned activities and prefer to let sleeping dogs lie. Several Japanese groups severely criticized Prime Minister Kan’s statement. Links between politics and NHK seem true. The drama “Clouds on a Hill,” though not endorsed by Shiba Ryotaro, the author, was released by NHK, and portrays Japan in a more favorable light during the period leading up to the annexation of Korea. Honest intellectuals like Akira Nakatsuka warned that NHK was intentionally or unintentionally distorting history with the drama’s depiction of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. Many Japanese see 2010 as having been a politically challenging year. A century has passed since Japan was challenging all of Asia. Current events find Japan on the defensive in economics as well as in territorial disputes. Taking into account the convergence of the centennial of Korea’s annexation and current challenges, some Japanese seem to have taken an introspective approach and believe the year could be a turning point in South Korea-Japan relations. Recognition of past imperfections may provide useful knowledge for current challenges. Unfortunately, there is still a significant portion of the Japanese population who would rather let sleeping dogs lie.