Textbooks authors told to change description to tone down criticism of U.S.

The U.S. attack on Afghanistan should be called a "ground attack" instead of "invasion". Descriptions in history and other high school textbooks for next school year starting in April 2004 has been changed under the compulsory guidance of the Ministry of Education and Science, which announced the results of its screening on April 8.

On an original description of "air bombing and invasion of Afghanistan," the textbook screening panel raised an objection, saying, "This expression might give a false understanding of the attack on Afghanistan, which was carried out under U.N. resolution." As a result, the publisher rewrote it as "air bombing and ground attack against Afghanistan."

Also, the description "Japan as an ally should call on the U.S. to make certain reflection...," was changed as "call on a major power to make..."

The part stating that "the U.S. was responsible for bombing Japan with nuclear weapons" was deleted, and the "overseas dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces" was changed to "overseas sending of the SDF."

The ministry screening ranged from issues of Japan's postwar compensation to foreign countries to global warming. It even made some changes in paragraphs of a textbook edited by the Association for New History Textbook, a right-wing association.

The panel recommended publishers to tone down the accounts about wartime comfort women, so that Japan's aggressive nature in the war would be watered down.

Commenting on the ministry's screening, Ishiyama Hisao, vice chair of the History Educationalist Council of Japan, stated: "The textbook screening completely violates the Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech, thought and expression. The screening urged publishers to rewrite textbooks so that they reflect the government position on all historic matters.

"Especially, the panel increasingly pressed writers to side with the U.S. Concerning the issue of the war on Iraq, I think the panel will stop calling it 'aggression' insisting that the war on Iraq was based on a U.N. resolution" in the next screening, he stressed. (end)