From Sept. 8 to 10, historians, diplomats and doctors from Japan, Russia and the United States will meet at Dartmouth to discuss the legacy of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese War 100 years ago and pledge to carry Portsmouth's spirit into the 21st century.
History professor Steven Ericson and art history professor Allen Hockley, along with John Sloan Dickey Center Director Kenneth Yalowitz, are the main organizers of the Portsmouth Treaty Centennial Conference event.
According to Ericson, the conference's academic goal is to give a "profound historical understanding" of the Peace of Portsmouth and its legacies. The diplomatic goal is to sign a protocol which would "promote and encourage cooperation on health issues in the Russian Far East," Yalowitz said.
The conference begins on an academic note on Sept. 8, with a presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian John Dower. Over the next couple of days, eight historians from the three countries will present papers at round-table discussions.
The gathering will culminate on Sept. 10, with doctors from the three countries signing a pledge to cooperate on global health issues in the Russian Far East. A panel of distinguished diplomats from each nation will also discuss Russo-Japanese relations today.
The Treaty of Portsmouth is especially important in Russo-Japanese history because it is the last treaty the two countries signed. Russia and Japan never signed a truce after World War II because of a dispute, which persists today over Russian occupation of the Kurile Islands.
According to Hockley, the two countries have "reasonably amiable relations now," but the diplomatic panel has been assembled to discuss the "disputes still outstanding," he said.
While it is unrealistic today for the U.S. president to win the Nobel prize for settling Japan and Russia's differences -- as Theodore Roosevelt did in 1906 for his work promoting the Treaty of Portsmouth -- but the United States can "play a key role in promoting dialogue," Yalowitz said.
The primary address, delivered by John Dower, is open to the public, as is the concluding diplomatic panel. The round-table discussions will be primarily for the 40 participants invited from the three countries, where translators will simultaneously translate the program in English, Russian and Japanese.
The idea for the conference originated with History Professor Ron Edsforth in 2001, but Ericson said he and Hockley have been planning it now for two years.
The Conference is a private initiative, but with Yalowitz's influence as a former ambassador, it has gained governmental recognition.
According to Ericson, Yalowitz has been in touch with the Foreign Ministers of Japan, Russia and the United States and that the U.S. attache to the embassy in Tokyo, a Dartmouth graduate, has been "very helpful."
