The official history of any nation, however big or small, embodies a blend of fact and fiction. Besides such politicized construction of history, Asia must also deal with harmful historical legacies, revisionist history, and territorial revisionism that are threatening its peace and economic renaissance. The squabbles over history and remembrance have already cast a long shadow over Asia’s extraordinary rise. Yet history problems are only intensifying, with growing nationalism among the major actors fueling disputes over everything from territory and natural resources to war memorials and textbooks. The time is overdue to draw a line under the past. Nations in the region must find ways to commemorate their past without alienating, insulting, or offending their neighbors. Asian nations cannot change the past, but they can strive to shape a more cooperative future ̶ without, of course, forgetting history’s lessons
