East Asia's new cold war between China and Japan

History book scandal: Disputes over war crimes mark a growing competition for regional hegemony between China and Japan

Claims the Japanese are re-writing history have re-opened old wounds for the Chinese. But at the heart of the dispute is the struggle for dominance of the region.

It's impossible to justify Japan's reluctance to face it's second world war history," states Asian expert Juergen Kremb. Even today, many Japanese politicians dismiss events like the 1937 Nanking massacre as minor incidents. "The Japanese see themselves as the victims of the war and not the aggressor," states university professor Peter Pantzer. News that Japanese schoolbooks left out war crimes in China provoked a wave of anti-Japanese protests. But the real issue at stake is not only Japan's reluctance to confront its past. It's dominance of Asia. As Juergen Kremb explains: "You can't forget that China wants to be a world superpower and project its strength, but it is up against another world power in the region."



A film by ORF - Ref. 2650

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