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Japan adopts history textbook that justifies its invasion of Asia
By Hun-Joo Cho and Hyong-gwon Pu
August 27, 2004
On Thursday the Tokyo Education Board adopted a new public school history
textbook filled with nationalistic bias involving distortions of historical
facts and exoneration of the Japanese invasion of Asian countries and the
rounding-up of women in occupied areas for use as sex slaves for its military
personnel.
With the adoption of a new history textbook for public schools scheduled for
next year, the number of schools adopting this new history textbook for the
2006-2009 period is expected to increase.
The newly adopted history book was created by a Japanese right-wing group
called, “A Committee for Making New History,” published by Fusosha Textbook
Publishing Company, and a new public high school that will open in Daito next
April will teach students with the textbook, said the education board after
finalizing its textbook adoption at a council meeting yesterday morning.
The newly adopted textbook describes a distorted historical perspective as the
following:
1) By describing myths as historical facts, it encourages Japan to worship its
emperors.
2) It refers to the Pacific War as a “great war to unify Asia” in militaristic
terms.
3) It beautifies the Japanese invasion of Asian countries and interprets its
cause as a war to liberate Asian people.
4) It glosses over its invasion and colonial governing history of Asian
countries that it occupied.
On the other hand, a civic group, “The Children and Textbook National Network
21,” which has voiced against adopting the distorted history textbook, strongly
urged the education board to scrap the decision and restart the adoption
procedure again after collecting opinions from teachers, parents, citizens, and
education authorities.
Responding to the Japanese textbook adoption, the Seoul government expressed
regret in its press release, saying, “We feel sorry that the Tokyo Education
Board adopted the Fusosha Publishing history book that justifies Japan’s
wrongdoings of the past.”
The spokesperson of South Korea’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, Shin
Bong-gil, added, “Adoption of the textbook can create a biased historical
perspective for the Japanese younger generation, and this move could halt the
efforts put into building up a good neighborly friendship based on reflections
of our shared past.”
“We assert the necessity that Japan should embrace its history and beef up
efforts to find wise measures to solve its biased historical view,” said the
spokesperson.
Also, he added, “We highly value various Japanese civic groups’ strong efforts
to make the public know about the wrongful move of the textbook adoption in a
gesture to protect its morally intact conscience.”
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