Before we are continuing on to a more in-depth discussion of the realization of an East-Asian Community, it is necessary to explain a short summary of the current circumstances in this region. As we know, the current condition in the region is rich of potential conflict among each other. Its is because of the diverse norm and principle, the peace and stability is unlikely to be achieved unless each of the states in the region share the same norms and principle. The East Asia that exists today is vastly diferent from that of only a decade ago.
The link between economic growth and political liberalization in East Asia is now well established. While increased prosperity is of course not the only factor involved in determining whether a country undergoes democratization, one need only look to the postwar experience of a state like South Korea for evidence of the connection and its applicability to nations in East Asia. The positive contributions that economic growth and political liberalization stand to make to long-term regional peace and stability become clear. In other words, economic growth supports political liberalization, which in turn leads to a more prosperous, stable, and peaceful region.
The problem, however, exists in the variety of some aspects. First, in the two models, people have different understanding towards the war. Second, there are cultural differences. Then, the awareness of regional indentity differs. Fourth, the level of modernization differs. Last, there is a nationalism problem.In such circumstances, any East Asia-related subject (including history and culture) becomes essential for a successful reconciliation and communication.
Now, what can we do to gain this successful reconciliation and communication? Based on discussion about historical dialogue and reconciliation in East Asia, there are some ideas that can be implemented by the civil socities. First idea is about common vision promote cooperation in various fields. This would be based on the principle of ‘open regional cooperation.' Through this, the region would develop a multi-layered network of functional communities in the field of trade, investment, finance and education.
Then, From Address on "Japan's New Commitment to Asia -Toward the realization of an East Asian Community-" by H.E. Dr. Yukiko Hatoyama, Prime Minister of Japan, 15 November 2009, Singapore, he said it will be essential for relationships of trust among countries to be consolidated over time across a broad range of fields. Also from the same person, Policy Speech by Prime at the 174th Session of the Diet, 29 January 2010 shared about the future of the historical memory issue in East Asia, he thought that there are several tasks to be taken care of. First, the region's society should not utilize historical memory for political or diplomatic means, doing so will only strengthen the existing national antagonism in East Asia among future generations. Then, they have to pay more attention to historical education for adults. It is not children but adults who passionately engage in political controversies. The efforts to publish a series on East Asian modern history for adults will offer some clues to solve this problem. Thrid, comparing to history textbooks in East Asia. In the long run, textbooks will continue to play significant roles in forming national memories. In order to understand present national memories and to promote reconciliation among future generations. Fourth, they have to begin the efforts to overcome national histories. As mentioned earlier, there is a territorial controversy on ancient history between China and the two Koreas, for example. National histories will continue to be a source of international disputes in East Asia. The historical reconciliation can not be reached if academics in East Asia do not dare to take the responsibility to nurture transnational imagination.
Another idea is about civic participation and civic engagement. Civic participation are often used interchangeably, and there are multiple definitions of these terms based on different cultural contexts. For the purposes of this study, civic engagement can be defined as individual or collective actions to improve the wellbeing of communities or nations. The goal of civic engagement is to improve the collective wellbeing. However, the benefits generated by civic engagement are both collective and individual.
East Asia region is rich of existing unsettled conflict and many more potential conflicts in the future contributing to the complexity of the dynamic in this region. It requires a habit and a framework for peaceful settlement . Therefore, through East-Asian Community as a future goal, we can utilize the features of growth dynamism rich East Asia and take continous concrete cooperative action aimed at resolving the region's issue, such as FTA, infrastructure development, energy and environment. The path towards the establishment of East-Asian Community requires a clear blue print as the roadmap for its implementation.
