Research on the legacy of Japanese imperialism and aggression has focused primarily on the conflictual aspects of East Asian international memory politics. In particular, it has highlighted the negative impact on Japan’s relations with China and South Korea. Scant attention has been paid to the reconciliation that arguably has been achieved, such as between Japan and Taiwan. How can such differences be understood? While numerous factors certainly matter, this chapter suggests that one hitherto overlooked aspect is the difference in how the anxiety associated with the ambivalence of complex historical experiences has been dealt with. Chinese and South Korean collective memory has taken the common approach of excising ambiguity and constructing a rather black and white coherent narrative about heroes, villains and victims, thereby avoiding anxiety. Taiwanese collective memory, by contrast, can be said to have faced anxiety and ambivalence to a greater extent by allowing historical complexity and ambiguity.