Cultural exchange: Japanese expatriates and their children dancing together on stage in joyful scenes during Penang Bon Odori 2025 recently. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
HOW have historical experiences – particularly the Japanese presence in Malaya – influenced Malaysia’s posture or public sentiment toward Japan in the post-independence era?
The founder of Universiti Malaya’s Malaysia-Japan Research Centre Dr Md Nasrudin Md Akhir (pic) says in the 1950s and 1960s, Malaysia-Japan relations remained limited, with the memories of war still fresh among Malaysians while Japan was preoccupied with post-war reconstruction.
