Coming to Terms with Asianism: Historical Reconciliation and Asianist History Politics in Contemporary China and Japan

The politics of the past have become an omnipresent factor in virtually every terrain of the public sphere in East Asia, particularly Sino-Japanese relations, including diplomacy, education, political and social discourse, and the economy. As could be observed on frequent occasions during the past decade, references to history serve as powerful arguments in political practices and debates that can stir up massive violent protests, halt bilateral exchanges, and severely damage business relations. Since the beginning of the new millennium the “history wars” have erupted practically on an annual basis. They reached extremes in the violent anti-Japanese demonstrations in Beijing and