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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Teachers from Japan, China, and South Korea exchange history education experiences

An international symposium was held on July 8 in Tokyo to mark the first anniversary of the publication of a book for use in class edited by scholars and citizens of Japan, China, and South Korea, titled, "The history to open the future."

More than 350 teachers and high school students of the three countries took part in the symposium, and exchanged their experiences of history education using the book.

The book was published last year in order to produce history education materials by which the concerned people of the three countries can share a common understanding of East Asian history, in opposition to the move to justify Japan's war of aggression spearheaded by the rightist Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform.

250,000 copies of the book have been put into circulation in the three countries, and the second edition was published recently.

In the symposium, Kong Fangang, a teacher at Shanghai Junior High School in China who used the book in an international class in which students from all three countries take part, quoted a student's impression of this lesson, "By understanding our common history we can join hands to create the peaceful and friendly framework of East Asia."

Park Junghyon, a high school teacher from Seoul reported on his lessons about the Okinawa Battle which had not been referred to in South Korean history textbooks. Park introduced an imaginary letter his student wrote to a deceased Okinawan high school girl who had been mobilized in the war to the nurse corps called "Himeyuri (star lily)" who killed themselves in "collective suicides." The student wrote, "I will make efforts so that innocent people will never be killed or hurt in a war."

Moriguchi Hitoshi, a teacher at Ritsumeikan Uji High School in Kyoto, said that he wanted to change the prevalent history education in Japan that emphasizes memorizing historical events in preparation for entrance examinations.

Two students told about a classmate who usually fell asleep during class, but shocked awake by the story of the wartime sex slaves, the classmate told them that he wanted to learn more.

One of the students said, "Learning the truth is unpleasant at the beginning but the knowledge will help us to develop our own thinking. It is important for us to exchange such opinions."
- Akahata, July 9, 2006