2025 September 8 (Mon) 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm | (In-Person) | Belfer Case Study Room (S020), Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge St.

Panel: The Enduring Legacies of World War II in East Asia: Reflections 80 Years Later

Panelist: THOMAS BERGER, Professor of International Relations, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University

Panelist: MARK CAPRIO, Kim Koo Visiting Professor of Korean Studies, Harvard University & Professor Emeritus, Rikkyo University Tokyo

Panelist: RANA MITTER, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School

Chair: CHRISTINA DAVIS, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics & Director, Program on US-Japan Relations, Harvard University

The 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War marks a significant occasion for critical reflections on its legacies in East Asia. China and Taiwan and the two Koreas are still divided and remain major flashpoints with security and political tensions. In the aftermath of WWII, Japan emerged as a peaceful state, but its imperial and war legacies have been politically contested. In China, growing pride and nationalism are driving public discourse about WWII. Leaders in South Korea and Japan, in the context of China’s rise and the second Trump administration, have been rethinking their global role and seeking more bilateral cooperation. Our distinguished panel of historians and political scientists will examine how the legacies of WWII still shape the global order among China, South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. today.

Co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Korea Institute, Harvard University Asia Center, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Program on US-Japan Relations, and the Reischauer Institute

Events

Panel: The Enduring Legacies of World War II in East Asia: Reflections 80 Years Later