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Reconciling the Past: H.R. 121 and the Japanese Textbook Controversy

Dutridge-Corp, Elizabeth Anne
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1250099908

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, History.
The Japanese history textbook controversy emerged as an international affair in 1982. The controversy, which focuses primarily on conservative textbooks, concerns itself with events and issues from Japan's World War II past. The "comfort women" issue is one such topic which protestors argue fail to be recognized in textbooks, thus sparking debate over whether Japan has been able to recognize its responsibility for its past deeds. On 30 July 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 121 (H.R.121), a non-binding resolution calling upon the Government of Japan to “formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility” for the Imperial Armed Forces' involvement in the “enslavement and trafficking” of “comfort women” during the Pacific War/World War II. Representative Michael Honda, a Democratic Congressman from the Fifteenth District of California, was the sponsor of this resolution. Supporting him and this resolution were 167 congressmen who were in favor of a formal apology from then Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe. But with World War II and the U.S. Occupation of Japan more than sixty years in the past, why, in 2007, was the U.S. calling for an “unambiguous” apology? H.R. 121, and the resolutions that came before it, were an American response to the “memory problem” in Japan concerning its war responsibility and apologies. While H.R. 121 was initiated over a matter of human rights, this thesis will argue that H.R. 121 serves as a formal U.S. demand for an apology from the Government of Japan for its wartime past, citing recent history textbooks as proof that Japan has yet to offer such an apology.
Dr. Walter Grunden, PhD (Advisor)
Dr. David Haus, PhD (Committee Member)
114 p.
American History; American Studies; Education; Education History; History; International Relations; Social Studies Education
textbook controversy; United States; Japan; history textbooks; H.R. 121; comfort women

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dutridge-Corp, E. A. (2009). Reconciling the Past: H.R. 121 and the Japanese Textbook Controversy [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1250099908

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dutridge-Corp, Elizabeth. Reconciling the Past: H.R. 121 and the Japanese Textbook Controversy. 2009. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1250099908.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dutridge-Corp, Elizabeth. "Reconciling the Past: H.R. 121 and the Japanese Textbook Controversy." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1250099908

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1250099908
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.