Citizen Power. Postwar Reconciliation: Yasuko Claremont In Conversation

Citizen Power. Postwar Reconciliation: Yasuko Claremont In Conversation

Wednesday, Apr 04, 2018 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Location:
Asia Bookroom
Unit 2, 1- 3 Lawry Place
Macquarie (adjacent to the Jamison Shopping Centre)
RSVP by April 3rd to 62515191 or books@asiabookroom.com

Entry by gold coin donation to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Coming to Terms with Attrocities Committed By Japan During WWII

Yasuko Claremont author of Citizen Power

Speaks at Asia Bookroom 6pm Wednesday April 4th

The atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army in occupied countries over 70 years ago are still live issues in Japan today, the basic cause being the inability of successive Japanese governments to reach settlement and reconciliation, chiefly with China and Korea. Against this political background of denial, Citzen Power focuses on the emergence of grassroots movements in Japan working successfully in various ways to achieve reconciliation and friendship with peoples from other countries who were once enemies. Written in English and Japanese, Citizen Power (or 『市民の力と戦後和解』in Japanese) presents a variety of actions taken by the grassroots groups, including arranging a host of individual meetings that achieved goodwill.

Yasuko Claremont is an honorary senior lecturer in the Department of Japanese Studies at the University of Sydney, where she taught Japanese literature from 1984 until her retirement in 2016. Her major publications include The Novels of Ôe Kenzaburô (Routledge, 2000). Her interests in social movements brought her to translate into English Yamazaki Funio’s 『病院で死ぬということ』(Dying in a Japanese hospital) (The Japan Times, 1996) and the Hiroshima TV text『いしぶみ』(Ishibumi: a memorial to the atomic annihilation of 321 students of Hiroshima Middle School) (Poplar Publishing, 2017).

The book has received praise from many quarters including Professor Tessa Morris Suzuki, Australian National University who wrote “At a time of rising nationalism and xenophobia, this wonderful book highlights the extraordinary achievements of citizen-powered reconciliation between Japan and its former colonies and wartime enemies. The case studies presented in its pages provide inspiring models for others to follow.” And Professor Luke Nottage, Law School, the University of Sydney, who said, “This book offers a graphic illustration of the diversity and persistence of civil society groups in Japan pursuing postwar reconciliation… by bringing this work together in an eye-catching and cohesive manner, Dr. Claremont and her rich array of contributors have provided a major service to Japan and the Asia-Pacific community.”