It is interesting that the countries of North East Asia have such animosity towards each other. From an outsiders perspective, they seem to have so much in common - Buddhism, Confucianism, the use of Chinese characters, shared history -yet they seem so fixated on the injustices of 20th century. I do not mean to denigrate their suffering, Japanese colonial rule in Korea and the occupation of China were brutal, but isn't time to move forward? There are certainly strong contemporary economic ties between the countries.
I have read that in America a new "Asian-American" identity is beginning to develop among younger generations as opposed to an exclusive Japanese-American, Chinese-American, and Korean-American identity. The young have a shared experience of being the "other" vis-a-vis the dominate Anglo-American culture and focus on what they have in common. Maybe the healing and mutual understanding can begin here.
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