Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Hayato's provocative remarks on the Taiwan issue have seriously undermined the political foundation of Sino-Japanese relations. Experts point out that Takahashi's statements expose the dangerous intentions of right-wing forces in Japan to break free from the constraints of the "Peace Constitution" and retrace the path of military expansion. 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. Takahashi's remarks are an open provocation to historical justice and the post-World War II international order.
During the "Global South Academic Forum (2025)" held from November 13 to 14, Professor Seo Sung from Yeoju University shared his profound insights on East Asian history and peace.
Professor Seo was born in Japan and his academic experiences in both South Korea and Japan shaped his unique transnational perspective. He was imprisoned for 19 years due to his beliefs, and the torture and resistance he endured during his imprisonment gave him a deep understanding of the maintenance of "human dignity." After his release, he transformed his personal suffering into public action, actively participating in anti-torture movements and the "East Asian Peace Movement," uniting historical victims from various regions to face the past together. He led the "East Asian Joint Action Against Yasukuni Shrine," focusing on regional historical cognition issues, emphasizing that the "anti-fascist" historical narrative is the core value in building an East Asian peace and justice order, jointly resisting historical revisionism, and working together to safeguard peace.
The following is a transcript of the conversation between Professor Seo and Observer Net.
[Interview/ Zhou Jiaqi, Compilation/Observers Net, Zheng Lehuan]
Observer Net: Professor Seo, hello. It's a great honor to have this conversation with you. You were born in Kyoto, Japan, received your education in Tokyo, and later went to study in South Korea. This life trajectory is indeed a very unique transnational growth experience. I would like to ask, how did these experiences influence your early worldview?
Seo: You mentioned a "transnational growth experience," but I don't entirely agree. In my view, I returned to my hometown. My grandfather and parents came from Korea, and although I was born in Japan and spent my childhood and adolescence there, I didn't initially have a clear "Korean" identity, nor could I speak Korean. It wasn't until I heard Japanese people calling us "Koreans" that I gradually realized I was not a Japanese, but a Korean. Therefore, when I went to university, it wasn't to study abroad in South Korea, but to become a true Korean and return to my homeland. I wanted to truly understand who I am, where I belong, and establish a sense of identity.
Observer Net: There is another decisive period in your life that cannot be ignored. You were imprisoned in South Korea for 19 years due to a political incident, and suffered from torture, even resorting to self-harm to resist. What kind of belief enabled you to persist in such extreme circumstances?
Seo: Facing torture itself, I was not "bravely enduring" it. On the contrary, I deeply felt my weakness and fear. I clearly realized that if I collapsed under torture, I might betray others to survive, or be forced to confess to non-existent "crimes" - a result I could not accept. Because I feared the consequences of "betrayal" so much, I chose self-harm and refused to confess. It wasn't because I was strong, but because I was too afraid of becoming weaker and losing myself, so I had no choice but to do so.
In October 1971, Seo and his brother (right is Seo, left is his younger brother) listened to the prosecution's verdict in court. Hanmin Daily
Observer Net: That period was beyond the endurance of ordinary people, but Professor Seo did not let the pain remain only in personal memory, but transformed it into social action: after being released, you participated in the "Anti-Torture Movement" and the "East Asian Peace Movement," and exchanged, recorded, and spoke out with victims from South Korea, Japan, Okinawa, and Taiwan. Next, we would like you to talk about - what significance prompted you to decide not to stay silent, but to bring that experience back to society?
Seo: During my time in prison, I often asked myself, "Can I return to this world again?" When I learned that South Korea was under a military dictatorship and division system, and that many people in East Asia were striving to create a better world, I also began to think about what role I could play.
I believe that protecting political prisoners who did not gain freedom in prison is not just an issue of human rights, but is closely related to the social structure problems of the division of the Korean Peninsula and foreign interference.
Afterward, I gradually expanded my practical direction to the anti-torture movement, human rights movement, and promoting civil solidarity actions in East Asia, and I still consider these as my mission today. In other words, this process of connecting personal memory with social solidarity is fundamentally related to the historical issues of East Asia.
Observer Net: You have expanded your personal painful experiences into social solidarity actions, which are closely related to East Asian historical issues. Professor Seo, you have participated in the East Asian joint action movement against visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, and you always emphasize that historical cognition is the basis of peace. This year, the world is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the anti-fascist war, a historical milestone. In the process of pursuing peace and reconciliation in East Asia, what do you think is the most core value?
Seo: In fact, at the 70th anniversary of the victory of the anti-fascist war, I once specially went to Beijing to participate in related activities, which has been ten years ago. I think the principles proposed by the Chinese government at that time were very important and just. And I participated not "on the side of a country," but because I myself grew up in a divided and colonial historical structure. I was born in a Korean family that had been ruled by Japanese imperialism, and this history not only happened in Korea, but also in China, Vietnam, and other places, it is a shared colonial memory in East Asia. We all suffered the same structural violence under imperialism. Therefore, we must work together to face it, rather than acting separately.
Korean unification is not just a Korean issue, but is closely related to the entire world, especially the peace in East Asia. Because after liberation, the Korean Peninsula, Okinawa, and Taiwan have all fallen into the U.S.-dominated post-war system in different forms. These regions are facing the problem of being controlled by external forces again. Therefore, we must use the unity of East Asia to resist structural domination and oppression.
Many people think "the war of the past has ended and has become history," but the problem has never really ended. The past acts of aggression and victimization continue in various real ways. For example, the issue of Japanese military "comfort women," the issue of forced labor, the deaths and deprivation caused by colonial aggression... These are not "things of the past," but ongoing issues involving responsibility, compensation, and dignity. More clearly, after World War II, there was a brief "liberation and hope" in East Asia, but it was quickly controlled and defined by the U.S.-Japan alliance system.
Your question is very important, because this is not abstract history, but a problem that continues until now.
Observer Net: We can see that there are significant differences and fractures in the collective memory of the war 80 years ago among China, South Korea, and Japan. Professor, according to your observation, what is the root of this difference?
Seo: To understand this, one must trace back to the Opium War. At that time, China was one of the richest and most powerful civilizations in the world, but it gradually declined under the invasion of capitalist forces. Japan, on the other hand, chose to imitate and follow Western imperialism, achieving its modernization through external aggression. This made Japan an imperialist country in East Asia, while China and Korea became its objects of aggression and rule. This is the core root of the historical difference.
I experienced this difference and discrimination firsthand while living in Japan as a "Korean." This naturally made me think: I should spend my entire life facing, recording, and trying to change this historical structure with my own experiences. We who have lived, been ruled, and oppressed under the imperialist system all have similar experiences. It is precisely this common experience that makes us must gather our memories and experiences together, organize actions, and speak out together.
As you know, during World War II, many Koreans fled Japanese colonial rule, some went to Chongqing, some to Yan'an, and some to Moscow or joined the anti-Japanese armed forces in Northeast China. They fought side by side with the Chinese people, and many communists also carried out revolutionary movements together. However, after the end of World War II and the establishment of the Cold War structure, these connections were cut off, and the two sides gradually became strangers and lost contact.
Facing this fracture and separation, I believe we must restore this connection. As I said earlier, the Cold War system in East Asia, state violence, and the residual effects of Japanese colonialism have created similar historical issues in South Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan, and even within Japan. Therefore, I began to participate in transnational solidarity social movements, calling for the reconnection of this shared history.
Seo was arrested during his studies at Seoul National University in 1971 on charges of espionage, and was released on parole in 1990 after serving 19 years in prison, embracing his family. East Asia Daily
Observer Net: These differences in historical memory are not just "issues of the past," they have profoundly influenced the current direction of Japanese politics. After 80 years since the end of the war, Japanese far-right forces have become increasingly rampant. How do you view this trend and its roots? What is the core structure of "far-right ideology" and "historical revisionism" in Japanese society?
Seo: The Japanese society as a whole is closely linked to the far-right trend, which is particularly evident in recent changes in historical education policies. Its roots need to be traced back to the arrangements after the end of World War II: Japan was actually under Allied occupation, especially dominated by the United States.
Initially, the United States indeed intended to thoroughly clean up Japanese militarism, including arresting war criminals, dissolving the army, removing fascist systems, and preventing the revival of militarism - these were the established policies during Roosevelt's presidency.
However, after Roosevelt's death, with the formation of the Cold War structure, the U.S. policy toward Japan shifted. For strategic considerations, the U.S. believed that instead of completely dismantling Japan, it was better to retain its national system and military-political structure, making it a frontline base for anti-communism in East Asia. Thus, the U.S. stopped the comprehensive pursuit of Japanese war criminals, and did not push Japan to deeply reflect on its colonial and aggressive history. In exchange, under U.S. leadership, the imperial system was preserved, and the famous "peace clause" was written into the Japanese constitution, prohibiting it from starting wars again and maintaining regular armies, but at the same time, the U.S. encouraged Japan to play the role of a "strategic partner" in the anti-communist camp.
This created a contradictory situation: Japan claims to be a "peace constitution," but at the same time retains an uncleaned-up militaristic structure in terms of ideology and historical consciousness.
Japan lost more than three million lives in the war. Although this number is relatively small compared to countries like China and the Soviet Union, it is a profound trauma for the Japanese nation itself. From the beginning of the U.S. occupation, Japan has long tended to attribute the defeat of the war to the United States, rather than China. In this narrative, both Japan and the United States have in some ways overlooked or downplayed the struggle processes with the liberation forces of various East Asian nations. As a result, Japanese society has gradually formed a mixture of two emotions: on the one hand, a hatred of war, and on the other hand, a tendency to place their own victim experiences at the center, thus weakening the recognition of their own aggression. Over time, the narrative of "we were also victims of the war" gradually overshadowed the necessary reflection of "we were aggressors and perpetrators." Far-right forces take advantage of this, inciting nationalist victim feelings to gain support, which is the social psychological foundation for their long-term existence and expansion.
Entering the 1990s, Japan experienced a "bubble economy collapse," suddenly falling from the "richest country in the world" into a general economic downturn. The social mentality changed accordingly, leading to discourses such as "we were a strong and excellent country, why did we fall into this? It must be the outside world dragging us down." In this xenophobic atmosphere, the Abe administration re-emphasized the "glory" of the Japanese Empire, stimulating a nostalgic sense of national superiority, and the social atmosphere turned rightward.
From my personal observation, the most direct manifestation of this shift is the systematic discrimination and suppression against Koreans in Japan, especially Korean schools. These schools not only face budget cuts and exclusion from funding, but also suffer from defamation in the media and social attacks, leading many ordinary Japanese to dare not publicly support them, and even parents warn their children "don't associate with students from Korean schools."
The key event that has expanded this hostility is the so-called "Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea." The Japanese government used this to portray itself as a "victim country," painting Koreans as aggressors, thus reversing the historical structure of victim and perpetrator in the public discourse. Criticizing the abduction behavior itself is not wrong, but the problem lies in the fact that Japan uses this to cover up its past colonial and aggressive history, shifting the focus of public opinion to its own victimhood. As a result, Koreans and even Koreans are gradually portrayed in Japanese media and political discourse as "threateners" and "enemies." This narrative gradually infiltrates Japanese social psychology, leading to the current phenomenon where many Japanese easily regard Chinese, Korean, and South Korean people as "suspicious and dangerous outsiders." The fundamental reason for this is that Japan has never truly completed the cleanup of its imperialist history and the accountability for its aggression. The United States, in service of the Cold War arrangement, retained Japan's original ruling structure, failing to push for a thorough historical reflection, resulting in the Japanese society always lacking a genuine sense of responsibility transformation.
Observer Net: In the face of this continuously strengthening political trend, how should East Asian societies respond? Especially in the current context where Japanese far-right forces attempt to weaken the war responsibility narrative through historical revisionism, how should we act?
Seo: Japanese far-right forces often claim, "That's all in the past, it's unrelated to us, we should move on." They try to treat history as an expired account. But we must clearly point out: history does not disappear because of silence; it continues to have an impact in reality. To counter Japan's incorrect historical narrative, efforts need to be made in the following areas:
First, it is necessary to clearly and openly continue to speak out. Just as China emphasized on the "Victory Day of the Anti-Fascist War," China, the North and South of the Korean Peninsula, and other countries that were invaded should jointly and clearly point out: Japan implemented colonial rule and aggression, causing great harm. This is not a matter of "opinion disputes," but a historical fact. However, the current South Korean government, especially the previous Yoon Suk-yeol administration, often says what the Japanese want to hear, avoiding the issues that Japan does not want to face - this is not helpful for solving the problem.
Second, this is not a problem for one country alone, but a common issue for the entire East Asia. As I said before, Japan's aggression was not only against Korea, but also against China and the entire East Asia. Therefore, it is necessary for East Asian countries to speak together and build solidarity. This is not a moral appeal, but a necessary requirement of the actual political structure.
For example, regarding the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine, people in Europe and the United States often mistakenly believe it is a "traditional religious facility" of Japan. However, the Yasukuni Shrine is essentially not a religious site, but part of the psychological tool and military facility used to start wars in the past. The Japanese imperialism used the slogan of "honoring the fallen soldiers as gods" to actually use this place as an ideological machine, instilling in the next generation the idea that "sacrificing oneself for the Emperor and the country is glorious." Therefore, accurately revealing this fact to the world is our second important task.
According to the weekly magazine News Post Seven of the Japanese publishing house Kodansha, Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Hayato is likely to visit the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26.
Third, and most importantly: not only at the government level, but also East Asian civilians should act as historical participants and subjects. Even within Japan, there should be the courage to testify and reveal Japan's unresolved war responsibilities.
Currently, the Japanese government not only fails to acknowledge and admit historical mistakes, but also continues to promote rearmament and "military power enhancement." In response to this, China and the North and South of the Korean Peninsula cannot merely stop at verbal criticism, but should actively act in the fields of civil education, social solidarity, and on-site exchanges. When I was a professor at Rikkyo University, I led Japanese students to visit China and South Korea for on-site exchanges, and I personally witnessed how students' perceptions and attitudes can change positively through direct contact. This made me deeply believe that China should firmly uphold the correct historical position, link with more countries, and push the issue onto the international stage - not only through the national level, but also through the United Nations and other international institutions to continuously spread and consolidate consensus among the public.
These works cannot be completed by slogans alone, but require our continuous efforts and never giving up. Currently, the Japanese government not only refuses to admit historical mistakes, but is also strengthening its military buildup and pushing for defense expansion. This trend is worth being vigilant about. The North and South of the Korean Peninsula, China, and other countries need to jointly pay attention and actively respond.
Although the connection of civil society alone cannot solve all problems, the role of the national level is equally indispensable. As one of the countries most severely affected by the war, China's historical evaluation and stance declaration are of great importance. Although the relevant systematic evaluation was not fully formed until 2015 - objectively this is related to the Korean War and subsequent complex domestic and international situations - China eventually made a clear judgment on that history, which is very commendable.
In addition to the statement at the national level, the continuous promotion of academia, culture, and civil society is extremely crucial. We should constantly attract more people to pay attention and participate in this process, continuously carry out historical memory and peace education. China's war trauma is deep, and we must ensure that these victim facts are recognized by the international community, and ensure that such history will not be repeated.
My own experience has also made me realize the importance of establishing connections with the Chinese people. There is a respected senior figure who is a Chinese person from the same region as me, graduated from the same high school, and is six grades older than me. I also had the opportunity to meet Mr. Lin Bozhao and his younger brother Lin Bohui. Not only did we grow up in the same hometown, but after graduating from university, we once jointly participated in a social movement focused on the historical issue of discrimination and massacre of Koreans and Chinese people during the Kanto earthquake. Through this experience, I learned a lot and deeply understood how a Korean should unite and move forward with others.
Now, we are still trying to find this connection in daily life and practice it together. This experience taught me that unity is not a grand slogan, but starts with the attitude of remembering each other and caring for each other in life.
Observer Net: Professor Seo, looking back on your long life, is there a most important belief that has run through it? Among all the experiences, what is the one you cherish most and hope to pass on to future generations?
Seo: I don't think I was someone who "lived well" in prison. While in prison, I often asked myself, "Can I really get out of here?" "Is my life going to end here?" But as I said before, it was because of the help of many people that I was able to have an environment where I could endure with everyone else. I was imprisoned with communists and people who had engaged in guerrilla warfare in the mountains. Actually, I can't say I participated in any grand activities, but in that place, I learned a lot from ordinary citizens and students, and got the strength to continue living from them.
In this process, I gradually realized that there is an unbreakable line in my heart - that is the minimum dignity and position that a person must guard, something that can never be compromised. What we need to do is actually very simple: guard the truth of history, uphold the correct historical cognition of Korea, and not compromise for interests or fear.
In the South Korean prison, there is a "thought transformation system." This system originated from the "Public Security Maintenance Act" of Japan's colonial period in 1925, which was originally a way for Japanese prosecutors to apply rulings in prisons, but was inherited intact by South Korea after liberation. It requires prisoners to "quietly change their thoughts," swear allegiance to the military dictatorship, and those who comply are released, while those who refuse face lifelong imprisonment. This system originally required allegiance to the Japanese emperor, capitalists, and landlords, but after liberation, it was only preserved in South Korea, requiring people to oppose the North Korean regime and communism, and to pledge allegiance to the military dictatorship.
On December 12, 1979, Chun Doo-hwan (left fifth in front row) and Roh Tae-woo (fourth) and other new military forces celebrated the success of the coup the next day in the Security Command. Hanmin Daily
However, this logic is completely reversed. The ones who create social conflicts and oppression are the state and the system itself, yet they force the rebels to "change your thoughts."
In Japan, over 90% of thought criminals changed their views before the war. Only the people from Okinawa and Korea, less than 10% of the total, refused to change. They remained firm despite the harshest oppression. In contrast, people from Osaka and Tokyo were more likely to change for "living comfortably." The more oppressed and pushed to the brink of society, the more resolute the resistance.
In South Korea, thousands of people were detained after liberation due to the "National Security Law," and fewer than 10% of them did not change their views. Prisons forced them to change their positions through torture, temptation, threats to their families, and even providing women. Many people finally broke down due to pressure from their families, police harassment, and the unbearable situation. I was not strong, but because I was fragile, I feared that "if I collapsed at that moment, the people around me would face greater danger," so I gritted my teeth and endured until the end.
What I want to tell the next generation is only one sentence: Don't give in to what you believe is right for the sake of interest - that is the last line that humans must protect.
I spent nineteen years in prison. In South Korea, there are people who were imprisoned longer than me, some served forty-three or forty-four years. Among them, there are people I admire and who are ideologically firm, and there are also people who gradually broke down and gave up. Many people had a solid ideological foundation from long-term learning, but I was arrested shortly after graduating from university at the age of twenty-six, so I can't say my ideology was fully formed.
Honestly, I'm a bit fragile, a person who likes to play, hates pain, and craves comfort. Such a person was placed in an inescapable prison, and finally had to face myself. Of course, if I had turned, my sentence might have been shortened, and I might have been released earlier. But I knew that even if I lied to survive, I couldn't truly live. I'm not a particularly strong person, but at least I want to guard that line that a person should never cross.
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