Sample
Letter
We are gravely concerned about the
adoption of the New History Textbook by your
Board. The textbook has been critcized, locally
and abroad, not only by education professionals
but also by the public, that it gives an
inaccurate account of history.
We are concerned that a body, such as yours,
responsible for genuine education, should choose
a textbook with so many historical inaccuracies.
As globalization continues, it is essential for
the country's next generation to live
harmoniously with its neighbours. Without knowing
an accurate wartime history, the younger
generation will have difficulty in communicating
with their fellow beings in the neighbouring
countries, especially China and Korea.
The effort of the civil society to alleviate the
problem can hardly take effect without your
support in terms of educating the next generation.
Japan's civil society, education professionals in
particular, has already put much effort in this
regard, such as a joint-project with Chinese and
Korean historians to write a history book. We
humbly remind your Board that Japan has ratified
the International Covenant of Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights. The Board of Education has
an obligation to provide education that "promotes
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all
nations ….and furthers the activities of the
United Nations for the maintenance of peace."
(Article 13)
We sincerely urge your Board to fulfill its role
of providing a genuine education to the next
generation by terminating the adoption of the New
History Textbook written by the Tsukurukai (Japanese
Society for Textbook Reform) in the coming school
year. |
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Background
Led by the
Japanese Society for Textbook Reforms, the New History
Textbook (NHT) had its debut in 2001. In August 2004, it
was adopted by The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education.
The textbook was then used by students in Hakuo High
School, a six-year secondary school run by the
metropolitan government at Tokyo's Taito Ward, since 2004
spring.
A new edition of the controversial history textbook was
later approved by the Ministry of Education in April 2005.
Despite its revision made to the 2001 edition, such as
deleting the statement that Japan's annexation of the
Korean Peninsula was "accepted by some people in
Korea," the latest version of the textbook is still
criticized by many as whitewashing the country's
atrocities in World War II. A coalition of 15 Japanese
civic groups said the book's content was essentially
unchanged and claimed some parts had been revised for the
worst. The approval reportedly triggered large scale
demonstrations in East Asia, especially China and Korea,
leading to tense regional relations.
Concerns and Actions of the Civil Society
When the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education adopted
the textbook in 2004, Children and Textbook Japan Network
21, a local concern group, feared that it would encourage
other right-wing education boards to adopt the textbook.
Children and Textbook Japan Network 21 deplored the
growing politicization in the selection of textbooks in
Japan. "The voices of teachers are no longer
reflected in choosing textbooks as they were in the past,"
Mr. Hisao Ishiyama, a permanent committee member of the
group, told a news conference in May. It was echoed in a
statement issued by the All Japan Teachers and Staffs
Union, which accused the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of
Education of making the decision arbitrarily without
consulting the teachers.
According to Mr. Ishiyama, other textbooks were becoming
more nationalist in tone. Although the rate of uptake of
the NHT 2001 edition was only 0.004, Mr. Ishiyama noted
that, of the 8 approved textbooks in April 2005, only 2
clearly stated that Japan forced some Koreans to go to
Japan as labourers. Other sources also indicated that
only 5 out of 8 approved history textbooks mentioned the
"Nanking (or Nanjing, as it is presently spelt)
incident," and only 1 mentioned "there are
allegedly over 200,000 victims." Prior to the
previous screening in 2001, 6 out of 7 history textbooks
gave specific figures.
To counter the problem and in response to the publication
of the NHT, 400 historians from China, Japan and South
Korea joined forces to produce a combined version of the
region's modern history - The Modern History of Three
Countries in East Asia (MHTCEA). However, Umeda Masaki,
president of the publisher, said the book was unlikely to
become a school text in Japan due to strict government
regulations.
How the books compare:
<The 1937
Nanking (or Nanjing) Massacre>
The New History Textbook (NHT):
A large number of fatalities and causalities among
Chinese soldiers and civilians were caused by the
Japanese military.
The
Modern History of Three Countries in East Asia (MHTCEA):
The Nanking war crimes court ruled that more than 190,000
people were slaughtered collectively and ruined by the
Japanese military, and 150,000 people were individually
slaughtered
<Invasion of
Other Asian Nations>
NHT
The regional invasions were carried out "in order to
secure resources."
MHTCEA:
Japan took it for granted that it would invade and rule
Asia, and brought huge suffering and disaster to Asian
people.
<Comfort
Women>
NHT:
The term "comfort women" does not appear.
Instead, "Young women from Korea and other parts of
Asia were….sent to their battlefield for Japanese
soldiers."
MHTCEA:
"Comfort houses" system was a collective crime
by the Japanese government and military. Comfort women
were forced to provide sex services for the Japanese
military.
Local Church Response
In marking the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War
II, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan issued a
peace message entitled "The Road To Peace Based On
Nonviolence, Now Is The Time To Be Prophetic."
Quoting the late Pope John Paul II's "Appeal for
Peace" which stressed "to remember the past is
to commit oneself to the future," bishops of Japan
remind the faithful of the mistakes which the Church made
before and during the war that leaders of the Church,
under the pressure of the government, admitted visits to
Yasukuni Shrines, the symbol for Japanese militarism and
ultra-nationalism, as 'rites.' The statement concludes
that the faithful should reflect on history, to promote
concrete initiatives for peaceful solutions by taking
"a firm stand on this issue in order to regain the
trust of the people of East Asia and together with them
work for peace."
The Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace (JCCJP)
echoed the call and issued a petition against the
adoption of The New History Textbook. The petition
targets all Boards of Education in the local level during
the current period of textbook selection, which will end
by the end of August. (The JCCJP's petition is available
upon request.)
Sources:
Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace
China Daily
South China Morning Post
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan Peace Message:
www.cbcj.catholic.jp/jpn/feature/2005/peace/05eng.pdf
To learn more about
the previous appeal and its updates on History Texbook
issue in Japan, please refer to UA010515(7).
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