April 7, 2015
The latest screenings of junior high school history textbooks conducted by the education ministry on April 6 directly reflect Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s desire to strengthen the government’s control over school textbooks.
During his first term as prime minister, Abe adversely revised the Fundamental Law of Education in 2006 and included in the new law that the aim of education is to foster love for the nation. Since returning to the post in 2012, Abe’s next target was to revise the government’s guidelines for textbook screenings.
“Although love for the nation and for one’s hometown was indicated in the new Fundamental Law of Education, the current textbook screening guidelines unfortunately do not reflect the spirit of the revised law,” said Abe at a House of Representatives budget committee meeting on April 10, 2013.
In accordance with the wishes of the prime minister, the Education Ministry last year revised its screening guidelines for social studies textbooks. The new guidelines require textbooks to not include certain information related to “unconfirmed historical events”. They are also required to indicate that a “commonly-accepted view” has not been established when mentioning certain information which is not felt to be accepted by the public.
In the first screenings to be held since the government revised the guidelines, the education ministry ordered a publisher to delete the testimony of a former South Korean “comfort woman” in its history textbook and instead write the government view that documents have not been discovered which directly show that “comfort women” were taken against their will.
Regarding a textbook account that “thousands of Koreans” were killed in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the ministry required the publisher to add that the number is not based on the popularly-accepted view.
The basis of Abe’s aim to control textbook publication is his historical view justifying Japan’s past war of aggression which is linked to his move to turn Japan into a nation capable of fighting wars abroad.
During his first term as prime minister, Abe adversely revised the Fundamental Law of Education in 2006 and included in the new law that the aim of education is to foster love for the nation. Since returning to the post in 2012, Abe’s next target was to revise the government’s guidelines for textbook screenings.
“Although love for the nation and for one’s hometown was indicated in the new Fundamental Law of Education, the current textbook screening guidelines unfortunately do not reflect the spirit of the revised law,” said Abe at a House of Representatives budget committee meeting on April 10, 2013.
In accordance with the wishes of the prime minister, the Education Ministry last year revised its screening guidelines for social studies textbooks. The new guidelines require textbooks to not include certain information related to “unconfirmed historical events”. They are also required to indicate that a “commonly-accepted view” has not been established when mentioning certain information which is not felt to be accepted by the public.
In the first screenings to be held since the government revised the guidelines, the education ministry ordered a publisher to delete the testimony of a former South Korean “comfort woman” in its history textbook and instead write the government view that documents have not been discovered which directly show that “comfort women” were taken against their will.
Regarding a textbook account that “thousands of Koreans” were killed in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the ministry required the publisher to add that the number is not based on the popularly-accepted view.
The basis of Abe’s aim to control textbook publication is his historical view justifying Japan’s past war of aggression which is linked to his move to turn Japan into a nation capable of fighting wars abroad.
