ON MONDAY, THE JAPANESE MINISTRY of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology published its screening results of history textbooks to be used from the spring 2016 semester in middle schools nationwide. Some of the textbooks distort history even further than past versions, such as replacing the Imperial Japanese Army "massively killed captives and civilians" with "many casualties and deaths". Most of them also say the islands disputed by Japan and China, as well as Japan and South Korea are Japanese territories. Comments:
It is evident that publishing houses are doing self-censorship under the pressure of conservatism, which is rampant in society. The Japanese government has emphasized that publishing houses should respect the government's viewpoints and that has caused this imbalance.
Beijing Times, quoting Enori Fujita, a professor of education at Kyoei University, April 7
A nation that does not respect history is like a person who does not know where he comes from. If Japanese politicians continue playing their tricks over historical issues, they will only lead Japan down a dead end, and their next generation will fail due to a lack of knowledge about the nation's past. Yet if the new generation of Japanese knows the truth, the Japanese leaders will lose their appeal.
cnhubei.com, April 7
The screening results show publishing houses have had to cater to the narrow nationalism of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Such textbooks will cultivate antagonism among Japanese youths toward neighboring countries instead of friendship. It is incredible that these history textbooks don't even mention the Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Nanking. Those who wrote and edited the textbooks should feel ashamed.
People's Daily, quoting Nobuyoshi Takashima, professor emeritus at the University of Ryukyus, April 7
Repeated moves by the Japanese government to instill into the country's younger generations a distorted view of history, as well as a false territorial perspective based on that view, are tantamount to conveying its intent to repeat its past wrongdoings. Furthermore, they demonstrate Japan's unwillingness to act responsibly while trying to win neighbors' trust.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, April 6
(China Daily 04/08/2015 page8)
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