Today in Japanese History: September 6 (UCLA Teaching about Japan website)

September 6

1984 South Korean President CHUN Doo Hwan became the first Korean president to visit Japan. Chun's visit marked the continuing improvement in Korean-Japanese relations. Japan's colonial domination of Korea prior to 1945 and fear of the economic power of its large neighbor, fostered resentment among many Koreans. By the 1980s, however, the remarkable gains in the South Korean economy and the passage of time, permitted the government to work to strengthen ties between the two nations.

Chun, a former general, became president when the South Korean military seized power in 1980. He served until 1988. In the mid-1990s, Chun was convicted of accepting bribes during his time as president. He was pardoned in 1997.

About 15,000 Japanese citizens live in South Korea and about 636,000 Koreans live in Japan. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Japan enjoyed a significant trade surplus with South Korea ($3-9 billion). The Japanese Foreign Ministry website offers a page on South Korean-Japanese relations. In 2001, the South Korean Foreign Ministry issued an "action plan" on South Korean-Japanese relations.

1986 DOI Takako (b. 1928) became the first woman to head the Japanese Socialist Party (renamed the Social Democratic Party 社民党 in 1991). Doi was a university lecturer for two decades prior to entering politics. She entered politics in 1969. Tall, articulate, and popular, Doi lead the fight against a 3% consumption tax introduced by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 1989. In 1993, Doi and other wrestled control over the Diet away from the LDP. HOSOKAWA Morihiro was elected prime minister and Doi was chosen as speaker. After much infighting, Doi was removed as speaker in 1996. She continued to lead the SDP. Her autobiography is entitled My Way.

In 1999, she spoke on globalization and her party:

"The light and shadow, or the positive and negative aspects of the ongoing globalisation of economic activities, have been debated by many experts in diverse fora. The subject has acquired a particular importance with the dangers which the world's financial system has encountered.

"I need not emphasize that the first victims are always the weak and the vulnerable whose rights we are committed to protecting....

"I believe the establishment of an ideology or a philosophy that goes beyond 'competition' becomes absolutely essential, if we are to prevent the danger of wars. Let us stop for a moment to think now. Such a philosophy has long existed. It only requires reorientation in the new era.

"I am referring to social democracy which all of us have long cherished. Since the last century, our predecessors have aspired to and made painful efforts to attain social justice and the right of all citizens to live in dignity. And we have followed their path during this century. We should strengthen our efforts as the voice of human conscience in the next century."

1997 Hana-bi, a film by KITANO Takeshi, received the Golden Lion Prize for best film at the Venice Film Festival.

1998 KUROSAWA Akira, one of world's greatest film directors, died. Among the best known of Kurosawa's films are classics such as Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), Dersu Uzala (1975), and Ran (1985) are among his works. Japan Echo memorialized Kurosawa as "A Teacher of Courage." Kurosawa studied art, focusing on painting, as a teenager, but entered the film profession in the 1930s. He worked as an assistant director and began writing scenarios and screenplays and directed his first film, Sugata Sanshiro, in 1943. Kurosawa received numerous awards during his career, including Best Foreign Language Film and Lifetime Achievement awards from the American Academy of Motion Pictures.

The Internet Movie Database offers plots, lists of actors and other contributors to Kurosawa films, and reviews of many of his works.

A number of people have created pages commemorating Kurosawa's achievements and contributions. One of the best is Nobuji's Unofficial Akira Kurosawa Fan Page. It features Japanese posters from Kurosawa's films.

The Teaching about Japan website is edited by Clayton Dube.
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