I may or may not be writing Week 4’s reflection on a Shinkansen to Kyoto after the LIA has ended - let’s just assume this delayed post is an attempt to deepen my reflective rigour.
We started the week by returning to Tokyo, coming back with a renewed appreciation for this crazy city and reminding ourselves of all there is to explore and enjoy in this heaving metropolis. However, this ambitious dream was quickly curtailed the second we entered the hell that is Shinjuku Station, a kind of labyrinth that would make even ancient Greek mythology shudder.
Anyway, our Monday brightened when we were reunited with our amazing boss, our extra amazing boss, after she invited us to her work for lunch. Alongside her work with Wake Up Japan, she works at a think tank that brings people together across borders through policy research, dialogue and international exchange. We were spoilt with a view of the gorgeous Japanese garden and some sensational prawn tempura. Aside from enjoying ourselves, we also spoke about work - what the week would bring and our ideas for our final project. The main focus of the week was to be research, with plenty of meetings lined up with new people and a new direction for our work.
From our first three weeks, we had noticed a recurring theme in our discussions and interactions that we felt couldn’t be ignored: collective identity. We noticed that the idea of a shared East Asian (or even Asian) identity often seemed quite unfamiliar to the people we spoke to, despite the region becoming increasingly connected economically, socially and culturally.
This felt especially relevant to our project because Wake Up Japan not only promotes cross-border interaction as a way of supporting peace, but also looks at how these connections can be strengthened. It made us think about identity as more than just a social issue, as it can also have a strong geopolitical impact, either reinforcing existing divisions or helping to create stronger foundations for regional cooperation and peace.
We focused our efforts on researching academic work on the origins of Asia as a concept, trying to understand how the region was formed and how these connections have developed over time. To get a more comprehensive understanding, we met with different people who have worked on efforts to deepen regional identity, from the Korea Museum in Okubo to university students from Sophia University and ICU.
The relevance of this topic was made even clearer to us on August 15th, the date of Japan’s surrender and the end of the war. August 15th demonstrates how a shared historical event can produce competing national memories. In Japan, it is a day of mourning and reflection on the war; in Korea, it represents liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Within Japan itself, disagreement over war responsibility shows that historical identity is contested even domestically. These competing memories continue to influence national identity, political discourse and relations between East Asian states.
We took part in an event run by our organisation that involved visiting the Chidorigafuchi War Memorial Cemetery, the Yushukan Museum and Yasukuni Shrine. The latter has been highly contested since 1978, when 14 Class A war criminals were enshrined there. It was a tense atmosphere due to the gathering of different ideological positions. Anti-shrine peace activists marched near the grounds, while ultra-nationalist counter-protesters rallied against them.
We then finished the week by visiting International Christian University, Japan’s first liberal arts university, which was established through fundraising campaigns in the States and Japan after the war. We had the pleasure of meeting Ikuko, who is a pastor, campaigner for reconciliation and a former resident of Leeds!!! It was extremely interesting to hear about her experiences with post-war education and sentiment, as well as her commitment to forging peaceful relations across borders, particularly through exchange with British POWs. We were incredibly lucky to meet such a genuinely interesting and kind person (as well as someone who was more than happy to talk about our favourite place with us).
Another busy but good week! Onto the next!!