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North East Asia is by far the most significant economic area within Asia, in GDP, financial or technological terms. Japan’s industrial firms have remained at the cutting edge of global competition, with some large Korean groups joining them. China’s economic rise is unparalleled at the beginning of the 21st century. The three countries exercise a powerful influence in most areas of soft power over the Asia-Pacific. “Reform” – understood differently and covering different agendas – is the key word in China, Japan and Korea, as it was at the end of the 19th century in Japan with the beginning of the Meiji era.
Yet historical, political and strategic obstacles of a wide and long lasting variety prevent the emergence of a full-fledged regional cooperation in North-East Asia. To come to terms with the Pacific War and its aftermath, all parties must get involved in a critical work on history and settle territorial disputes. Political regime differences with respect to the role of public opinion, the nature of education and information, the perceived legitimacy and role of domestic factors in foreign policy constitute obstacles to an improved understanding between societies. Huge imbalances in levels of development, a growing apprehension over natural resources, mutual economic fears, and uncertainty about the relative status of the region’s key countries in the near future contribute to misunderstandings.
All of the above themes of deep concern for Japan’s future deserve to be treated with utmost attention to different judgments and interpretations. European scholars have quarrelled more than most in the past on similar historical themes and on the policies of Europe’s nation-states. But they have also, in the last half-century, contributed their share to a process of reconciliation and to a better understanding of national issues and interests, leading to regional cooperation and a process of European-wide integration. Today, scholars from the main countries of North-East Asia face a similar agenda and welcome the debate with their French and European counterparts.