Anti-Japan

<div>Although the Japanese empire rapidly dissolved following the end of World War II the memories mourning and trauma of the nation's imperial exploits continue to haunt Korea China and Taiwan. In <i>Anti-Japan</i> Leo T. S. Ching traces the complex dynamics that shape persisting negative attitudes toward Japan throughout East Asia. Drawing on a mix of literature film testimonies and popular culture Ching shows how anti-Japanism stems from the failed efforts at decolonization and reconciliation the Cold War and the ongoing U.S. military presence and shifting geopolitical and economic conditions in the region. At the same time pro-Japan sentiments in Taiwan reveal a Taiwanese desire to recoup that which was lost after the Japanese empire fell. Anti-Japanism Ching contends is less about Japan itself than it is about the real and imagined relationships between it and China Korea and Taiwan. Advocating for forms of healing that do not depend on state-based diplomacy Ching suggests that reconciliation requires that Japan acknowledge and take responsibility for its imperial history.</div>