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Nationalism in Political Narratives. An Analysis of the History Problem in China-Japan Relations

Hedlund, Felix LU and Öhrn, Vidar LU (2026) STVK04 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Since the end of World War II, the relationship between China and Japan has been complicated. A lot of which has to do with the Japanese handling of atrocities committed by the Japanese empire. Collectively dubbed the history problem, it serves as an example of when constructed ideas and narratives shape international relations. With the Chinese side accusing Japan of denying the events and the Japanese side accusing China of using the events for political reasons. In this analysis we will explore the narrative of official statements by the respective governments, focusing on the dominant Liberal Democratic Party in Japan and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. With the focus being rooted in how nationalism and the tied concept, denialism,... (More)
Since the end of World War II, the relationship between China and Japan has been complicated. A lot of which has to do with the Japanese handling of atrocities committed by the Japanese empire. Collectively dubbed the history problem, it serves as an example of when constructed ideas and narratives shape international relations. With the Chinese side accusing Japan of denying the events and the Japanese side accusing China of using the events for political reasons. In this analysis we will explore the narrative of official statements by the respective governments, focusing on the dominant Liberal Democratic Party in Japan and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. With the focus being rooted in how nationalism and the tied concept, denialism, influence these narratives. Using a narrative analysis we analyse what is stated and how to understand the overall narrative pushed by the states. With this study we see how the problem persists based on differences in narratives pushed by either state both by direct rhetoric and selective approaches to issues driven by nationalism which shows some of the reasons the problem still persists. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hedlund, Felix LU and Öhrn, Vidar LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK04 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
China, History Problem, International Relations, Nationalism, Japan
language
English
id
9227219
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 11:14:44
date last changed
2026-06-16 11:14:44
@misc{9227219,
  abstract     = {{Since the end of World War II, the relationship between China and Japan has been complicated. A lot of which has to do with the Japanese handling of atrocities committed by the Japanese empire. Collectively dubbed the history problem, it serves as an example of when constructed ideas and narratives shape international relations. With the Chinese side accusing Japan of denying the events and the Japanese side accusing China of using the events for political reasons. In this analysis we will explore the narrative of official statements by the respective governments, focusing on the dominant Liberal Democratic Party in Japan and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. With the focus being rooted in how nationalism and the tied concept, denialism, influence these narratives. Using a narrative analysis we analyse what is stated and how to understand the overall narrative pushed by the states. With this study we see how the problem persists based on differences in narratives pushed by either state both by direct rhetoric and selective approaches to issues driven by nationalism which shows some of the reasons the problem still persists.}},
  author       = {{Hedlund, Felix and Öhrn, Vidar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Nationalism in Political Narratives. An Analysis of the History Problem in China-Japan Relations}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}