This talk proposes a theoretical framework to understand how nations deal with collective trauma about past events and applies it to the case of Japan. Through content analyses of newspaper editorials and political speeches, Kiyoteru Tsutsui addresses empirical questions of the paper (1) why conservative discourses that seek to minimize Japan's war crimes have had much resonance in Japan, and (2) why the progressive arguments pushing for apologies for the war crimes have been gaining ground in recent years. While acceptance of guilt has become the norm in Japan, there is a sign of resurgence of conservative discourse in the last decade, as conservatives appropriate the international human rights language to relativize Japan's war crimes, referring to egregious human rights violations by other nations.
Kiyoteru Tsutsui received his BA and MA at Kyoto University in Japan and MA and PhD at Stanford University, all in Sociology. His principal research interest is in political/historical/comparative sociology, social movements and human rights. His current research investigates how ethnic minority movements in Japan have used global human rights to advance their causes, as well as how discourse on the Asia-Pacific War has been affected by global normative and geopolitical changes. With a long-term interest in economic sociology, he also has been developing a project on the emergence and development of Japanese business groups.