Publisher Sanseido KK is recalling 10,000 Japanese textbooks, which are used by many elementary schools in Tokyo, after an illustration showing a girl with three arms was mistakenly printed.
The company apologized on its website for the illustration that appears on Page 5 of "Shogakusei no Kokugo Ichinen,” a Japanese textbook used in 1st grade Japanese classes in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture. A student noticed the extra hand, company officials said.
The illustration depicts a girl with three arms, holding a flower ring with both hands in front of her and leaning back on the desk with her third hand.
According to Sanseido, the illustrator forgot to erase an arm from the first draft drawing and proceeded to color it without noticing the extra appendage, Fuji TV reported.
Such mistakes are rarely found after textbooks are screened, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
© Japan Today
42 Comments
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Speed
That's hilarious! : D They should keep it.
Wc626
So what's the big deal? Simply recall the books, erase the extra and reprint. How is this news in the 1st place?
John Young
If that's the worst thing wrong with that textbook...just let it go and save the trees.
toshiko
Maybe 1st grade children thought it is a manga?
ifd66
If I find a mistake on any worksheets already printed I just point out the mistake to my students. Just update it when the next reprint is needed. Such a waste and not a good example to set for the students.
B.B.Q.Demon
But, the mistakes in the English textbooks are allowed to sail through uncorrected and are even repeated in subsequent editions.
toshiko
The parents should keep. Some years later, these books will be collectors items.
nath
"We apologize if our attempts at inclusiveness resulted in traumatized children."
Evan Hayden
I think they should leave it in. It's pretty funny, but hard to spot without it being pointed out to you first. Might be amusing for the occasional student to find it. But yes, I agree also that it's a big waste of trees to scrap and reprint the whole run.
JonathanJo
Remember the three-eyed fish in The Simpsons?
noypikantoku
have a little humor uptight hypcrite educators...
Frungy
Made in Fukushima?
tinawatanabe
Or made in France?
Moderator
Back on topic please.
drakedogma
There was funny stuff all the time in my textbooks, and it wasn't a big deal, usually because textbooks in our countries are constantly re-printed and re-sold nearly every single year
Bondsan
a collectors edition, the otaku will go nuts for it
Fearghal
Woah, what a disgusting waste, and a terrible example of being environmentally to young kids.
The illustration is a harmless mistake and even adds character to the book.
dsanjo
I wish there was more criticism of the actual content of the textbooks.
She has three arms. Who cares? It was a mistake. Don't bother with the recall.
TexPomeroy
It should be used with a small notice about the error pasted on the cover or thereabouts - as they say, "Forewarned is ... three-armed"(?)
Disillusioned
The editor needs a good kick in the butt for letting this one go unnoticed. The illustrator? What can you say? He's just an artist!
itsonlyrocknroll
Enlighten me on who is footing the bill? A sense of proportion is needed.
TheTiger
Thankfully the students are paying attention to something.... good spot! Dont worry about recall, just put a sticker over it, safe the environment.
WilliB
Stupid waste of government ressources. WHy not just keep the book. If a kid notices, the teacher can use that as a conversation topic. What is the big deal? Anal-retentive bureaucrats stay out of it.
M3M3M3
I wonder if it's was the same artist who drew the 5 legged sheep new years card? Maybe it's a bit of a running joke in all of their work?
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/11/22/can-you-spot-the-problem-that-led-to-the-recall-of-this-otherwise-cute-japanese-new-years-card/
Kobe White Bar Owner
Great way to keep kids interested in the books, whats going to be next they would think! more more more
bullfrog
When I entered an elementary school about 54 years ago, all the school text books were free, but they were often misprinted. I thought (think) it was normal. Do not think much of this 3-arms girl picture. No perfect text book.
smithinjapan
Whomever the editors are this is a pretty sloppy mistake, but I think recalling, reprinted, and sending new ones is a gross waste of money and completely unnecessary. In fact, this kind of misprint, since it's rare, should give it automatic cult and collectable status. The kids can keep them and later post the "three handed girl" texts on auction or something. haha.
Seriously, it's an overreaction, and no doubt somewhere along the line someone is profiting from it. Who pays for the recall? the company? the ministry? I sure hope there was nothing about fear that it might be linked to Fukushima, as one poster pointed out, in the decision process.
Dumb mistake, but let it go!
lucabrasi
Whomever??
Now that's a sloppy mistake....
inshikoku
Actually, the teacher or mother in the picture has only one arm.
zootmoney
Could have been used as a fun "find the mistake in the picture" game for the 6-year-olds.
Tony W.
Maybe the girl comes from the Isle of Man (Oh! no - sorry, then she'd have three legs!).
spahnmatthew
Obviously, this recall poses a public safety hazard and is justified at any expense... =P
Carlos Sandoval Cañón
I was having a good time and laughing until I started reading some comments... Come on boys and girls! It's Friday! It is a weird note. Have a bit of fun!
Zaxxun
What's all the fuss about the books getting wasted? All they need to do is cover it with a sticker of the correct illustration. And if they really want to save on cost, they should just have the teachers do the sticking for them.
Rik314
If readers have ever been involved in test making or other kinds of creation of public documents, especially for education, they would understand this. They cannot let it go. It would have been missed by almost endless vetting. Someone's head, and one sketched hand, is going to roll. Ironically, one of my uni students spotted it in the news and used in class!
Cliffy
They should just say the 3rd arm is actually from an Ayakashi possessing the girl and mix a few with the correct printing. Then you can create an urban legend that if you happen to have the one with only 2 arms. That means the goblin that was in the girl has left and entered the owners body. That would be a good prank or making of an interesting low budget C-rated horror film.
DaDude
Man where I come from, kids draw things worse than a 3rd arm in a textbook.
hooktrunk2
Monumental waste of time and money to recall these books. If it were a clawed hand or something truly scary, I could possibly see something like this. Have the publisher print a bunch of corrected stickers of just this one illustration and have the kids put them in the book. Seems more cost effective. I hope the illustrator doesn't suffer because of this.
HokoOnchi
There goes a collectictible!
Fadamor
You can see part of her right sleeve - along with the cuffed end - on the left edge of the picture. Both arms appear to be present.
Nathaniel Reed
The final sentence: 'textbooks are screened.' So countries with a government ministry to screen school textbooks are Japan, North Korea and.......any more?