All assemblies in Okinawa adopt resolutions in opposition to government textbook screening policy

   The Kadena Town and Kunigami Village assemblies in Okinawa on June 28 adopted resolutions demanding that the Education Ministry retract its order to delete from history textbooks the account that the Japanese Imperial Army forced local residents to commit “mass suicide” during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

   All assemblies in Okinawa, including the prefectural assembly and 41 municipal assemblies, have adopted similar resolutions.

   All these resolutions unanimously pointed out that the incidents of civilians’ “mass suicide” would not have occurred without military coercion or guidance and that the Education Ministry’s screening policy is totally unacceptable.

   The resolution adopted by the assembly of Chatan Town, where the U.S. forces first landed on the main island of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, stated, “One in seven Chatan residents were killed in the war. According to the records of Chatan residents’ war experiences compiled by this town, it is the historical fact that many Okinawans were driven to death by the Japanese military that robbed them of their food, drove them out of shelters, and accused them as being unpatriotic or even spies.”

   “The fiercest land battle took place in this town and killed as much as 47 percent of town residents, more than 5,100 precious lives. As their remains as well as unexploded shells are still being found, the postwar period is not over yet,” the Nishihara Town Assembly stated.

   The Onna Village Assembly stated, “Correctly informing children of the historical facts in order to prevent another cruel war is the greatest responsibility that adults have to bear.”                         - Akahata, June 29, 2007