[PRI] Translating for Peace and Reconciliation? The Kempeitai Documents and Sino-Japanese Relations

"Translating for Peace and Reconciliation? The Kempeitai Documents and Sino-Japanese Relations"
Co-sponsor (Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation(GBSF), Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies(ICAS), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies(TUFS), Peace Research Institute(PRI))

Lecturer: Dr. Martin Ward (University of Leeds)
Language: The lecture will be in English followed by a multilingual Q&A session
Place: ICU Dialogue House 2F Conference room (in Person) and Online (Zoom)
Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2024, 19:00~
Lecture Mode: Hybrid
Please register from the URL below. The Zoom link will be sent to you by auto-reply after registration.
https://forms.gle/6bP7BhKWvsF85rA76

Overview:  

This lecture will provide an overview of Japanese military documents discovered in China in the 1950s, translated and published in Chinese and English over the past decade. It will highlight the documents' content, significance, and evidence of wartime atrocities and lesser-known aspects of human suffering. Furthermore, the lecture will consider the ethical dilemmas and  challenges surrounding the translation process, as well as the impact of these translations on  Sino-Japanese relations and the broader quest for peace and reconciliation. Key questions that will be addressed include: Is the existence of these documents by its very nature a hindrance to peace? How should the documents be handled? What can happen if they are mishandled? The discussion will end on a note of optimism regarding the potential role of the documents, albeit with a caveat that there remain difficulties ahead, and successful reconciliation, as it pertains to these documents, is far from certain.

Please feel free to contact us at icupri@icu.ac.jp if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please see the map below for the location of the venue (No. 18).