Wartime Enemy or “Asian” Model?  An examination of the role of Japan in history textbooks in Hong Kong and Singapore

Abstract

This article compares the history curricula of Hong Kong and Singapore since the 1980s with respect to their treatment of Japan, particularly its involvement in World War II. It examines the role played by Japan as one significant "Other" against which its for- mer victims define themselves. As well as being cast as a wartime aggressor and agent of local "victimhood," Japan has also been hailed as an economic and military model worthy of emulation. By comparing portrayals in school history textbooks and their shifts over time, the author shows how images of Japan have been used by state elites in these two former British colonies to construct significantly di- vergent official visions of "postcolonial" identity. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT];This article compares the history curricula of Hong Kong and Singapore since the 1980s with respect to their treatment of Japan, particularly its involvement in World War II. It examines the role played by Japan as one significant "Other" against which its former victims define themselves. As well as being cast as a wartime aggressor and agent of local "victimhood," Japan has also been hailed as an economic and military model worthy of emulation. By comparing portrayals in school history textbooks and their shifts over time, the author shows how images of Japan have been used by state elites in these two former British colonies to construct significantly divergent official visions of "postcolonial" identity.;This article compares the history curricula of Hong Kong and Singapore since the 1980s with respect to their treatment of Japan, particularly its involvement in World War II. It examines the role played by Japan as one significant 'Other' against which its former victims define themselves. As well as being cast as a wartime aggressor and agent of local 'victimhood,' Japan has also been hailed as an economic and military model worthy of emulation. By comparing portrayals in school history textbooks and their shifts over time, the author shows how images of Japan have been used by state elites in these two former British colonies to construct significantly divergent official visions of 'postcolonial' identity. Adapted from the source document.;This article compares the history curricula of Hong Kong and Singapore since the 1980s with respect to their treatment of Japan, particularly its involvement in World War II. It examines the role played by Japan as one significant 'Other' against which its for- mer victims define themselves. As well as being cast as a wartime aggressor and agent of local 'victimhood,' Japan has also been hailed as an economic and military model worthy of emulation. By comparing portrayals in school history textbooks and their shifts over time, the author shows how images of Japan have been used by state elites in these two former British colonies to construct significantly di- vergent official visions of 'postcolonial' identity. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT];This article compares the history curricula of Hong Kong and Singapore since the 1980s with respect to their treatment of Japan, particularly its involvement in World War II. It examines the role played by Japan as one significant 'Other' against which its former victims define themselves. As well as being cast as a wartime aggressor and agent of local 'victimhood,' Japan has also been hailed as an economic and military model worthy of emulation. By comparing portrayals in school history textbooks and their shifts over time, the author shows how images of Japan have been used by state elites in these two former British colonies to construct significantly divergent official visions of 'postcolonial' identity. Adapted from the source document.;