The recent visit by the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe to the Yasukuni shrine caused outrage amongst its former colonies, with China and South Korea leading the chorus of objections. What this recent visit by Abe proved is that Korea and Japan still have a long way to go in healing the wounds of the past. The atrocities committed by Japan during its long period of colonization of the Korean peninsula should not be forgotten quickly but as we begin 2014 should the question not be asked what does either country gain from holding on to its past?

In Ireland, we have a similar relationship with our former colonial masters, Britain. When I was young I was told of the atrocities committed by the British army such as Bloody Sunday and viscous campaign by the feared ‘Black and Tan’s’ who shot numerous people during the War of Independence (1918-21). We also had our share of Prime Ministers, who when times were tough politically back home were not shy in reminding the British government about these past mis-deeds and found it very useful to win applause from the home crowd by invoking the sacrifices made by the men and women who fought against British rule. So, how is any of this relevant to where Korea and Japan are at the moment?