Warning Over Japans Rightwing History Textbook

By Yeon Min-soo

Japan's education ministry approved a junior high school history textbook published by the Tokyo-based Jiyusha publishing company on April 9, setting the stage for the debut of another controversial textbook following ``New History Textbook'' published by Fusosha Publishing Inc.

Behind the new textbook is the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, which also wrote the Fusosha textbook. The new textbook is almost identical to the previous one in terms of content and orientation.

Internal division of the rightwing textbook reform society has led to a change in the publishing company. The society, founded in 1997, said in its inaugural statement that postwar history education has ignored Japan's culture and tradition and caused a loss of pride among Japanese.

The society has claimed that current history textbooks treat Japanese as if they were ``destined to become criminals'' who should repent of their misdeed continuously from generation to generation. It has also rejected postwar history education and criticized current textbooks for bringing about self-defamation to Japan.

The society already obtained approval for its history textbook from the education ministry in 2001 and 2005. But it has been thrown into grave internal strife as merely 0.4 percent of schools adopted its textbook. Some disgruntled scholars bolted from the society and set up their own group for textbook reform. Fusosha came to join the splinter group.

In an attempt to maintain its identity after feeling the sense of crisis from the infighting, the society has decided to make a new history textbook in cooperation with Jiyusha. One of the significant features of it is the glorification of rule by the Japanese emperor.

The textbook stresses the sacred lineage of the emperor and his permanent rule by introducing Japan's founding mythology. It also eulogizes Hirohito, also known as Emperor Showa, held responsible for Japan's war of aggression in modern times.

In addition, the textbook is designed to gloss over Japan's aggression and describe the Pacific War as ``a war of great East Asia'' in order to claim that Japan tried to liberate Asian countries from the West's colonial rule. It also attempts to justify Japan's colonial rule in Korea and other Asian countries, while refusing to recognize the Tokyo Trial, or the war crimes tribunal by the Allied forces, which condemned Japan's war of aggression.

Such interpretation of history is undeniably emphasizing superiority of the Japanese people and culture. We cannot but call into question the real intention of the Japanese government behind its approval of the controversial textbook, which is inviting criticism from the international community.

The approval is not merely based on the thought and inclination of individual members of the textbook screening council affiliated with the education ministry. Rather, it might be affected by the existence of diehard rightwing politicians and bureaucrats in the Japanese government who are trying to justify its war of aggression and colonial rule, as well as whitewash its shameful history.

Many Japanese textbooks have come to exclude descriptions of ``comfort women," sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II. The comfort women issue is considered one of the worst wartime crimes against humanity in world history. There is little doubt that the exclusion has not been possible without growing voices of rightwing figures and acquiescence of the Tokyo government.

Japan revised its basic education law 60 years after it was introduced under its postwar Constitution. The changed law is certainly aimed at fostering a spirit of patriotism and esprit de corps in order to cultivate humans who are molded to serve the nation.

In addition, Japan rewrote its school education law and education curriculum guidelines in a move to imbue students with nationalistic ideas and values.

It's regrettable that controversial textbooks are increasingly available for young students in classrooms. History teaches a lesson that egocentric history perception based on nationalism has inflicted tremendous damage and untold suffering to a great number of humans.

It's important to tell the difference between the freedom of history interpretations and the distortion of historical facts. It's necessary for Japan to grasp its history from an objective point of view and be aware of it as part of world history so that it can overcome its narrow-minded interpretation of history based on nationalism.

Japan is urged to promote ideas and take action in broader international perspectives beyond its boundaries of a nationalistic state in a move to pursue peace and the coexistence of mankind.

Yeon Min-soo is a researcher at the Northeast Asian History Foundation (www.historyfoundation.or.kr) in Seoul. He obtained a doctorate in the field of ancient Japanese history from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. He is now engaged in work regarding the ancient history of East Asia.