ABSTRACT
Any discussion of post-1945 Japan-China relations cannot be free from the shadow of pre-1945 history. In Japan for the past fifty plus years, a national debate on how to account for the Japanese aggression in Asia in the past has continued with varied intensity. Over the course of time the participants in the discussions were drawn from a wide range of people, from ex-soldiers of the imperial army to a graduate student studying in a Chinese university.1
This chapter, however, focuses on a survey of writings on post-1945 JapanChina relations by leading Japanese scholars. It addresses the questions: Who are the major scholars and what are their interpretations of Japan-China relations in the postwar era? Are there different schools of thought centred on ideology, methodology, personalities and universities? What were the major shifts and trends in interpreting Japan-China relations reflecting developments in China and changes in world politics? With hindsight, what are the strengths and weaknesses of past scholarship on Japan-China relations?
