politics

Japan's education reforms stir memories of wartime indoctrination

19 Comments
By Linda Sieg

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19 Comments
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Nippon Keigi to the letter, sacrifice for the nation? What use is bayonet practice, when the other person has an assault rifle. Ahhh that's the sacrifice part of it. Beautiful Japan. Grumpy old men intent on making future generations suffer as they perceive they did. Would be nice to work towards a happy future....

5 ( +8 / -3 )

To love ones country you have to have respect from those that run it. Politicians worldwide have destroyed peoples respect, all they do is chase and try to implement their own agendas on the people. To use education for this purpose is a crime against the morals that we were brought up to respect. I have two children in the Japanese school system and it disgusts me to think that they are trying to force their pre war nationalist agenda upon my children. The way the education ministry continually tries to alter history and force pre war agenda not only damages all children's minds it promotes antagonistic thoughts towards neighboring countries.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

The entire country is right wing.

It's a communist dictatorship what do you expect?

Japan on the other hand is supposed to be a freedom loving democracy. That's slowly going down the tunes.

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More jarring was a decision announced last Friday to include “jukendo”, a martial art based on bayonet fighting, among sports that can be taught in junior high schools,>

Bullying in schools won't be complimented by this

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Abe government and supporters worship pre-war thought,hate fundamental Human Rights and individual freedom. and They want to spread "loyalty to the state" under the name of"patriotism"

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Ossan America

Said Xinhua, the state controlled news media of China, a one party totalitarian dictatorship with "Patriotic Education" throughout it's school system,military and territorial expansion agenda

And guess what nation is most responsible for it?

Lol, thank you for basically likening Japan with an authoritarian country. Good job. Oh, and the LDP is responsible for it.

The campaign to put patriotism back in schools has been a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s agenda since his first one-year term from 2006, when parliament revised a law setting out the goals of education to include nurturing “love of country” and respect for tradition and culture.

On top of that, the donations, the discounted property selling price, his wife's honorary principal status, and the fact the the school's operator, a fellow Nippon Kaigi member, testified against him, we're still supposed to believe that the PM had nothing to do with that nationalistic school and the rest of that scandal?

In one case, a publisher swapped in a picture of a maker of traditional Japanese “wagashi” sweets instead of a bakery in a section on getting to know one’s neighbourhood

But critics say such changes seek to impose an exclusive definition of “Japanese culture” and foster narrow patriotism.

Yeah, because we can't allow the idea of bakeries to potentially be selling Western baked goods in Japan, now can we? The horror. Why stop there? What about the idea that katakana is being used to write foreign words for the Japanese language? What about Kanji being Chinese characters? What about the fact that this nationalistic education they're trying to spread teaches elements of Confucianism, a Chinese philosophy? What about the Emperor having Korean blood? I think this should be part of the education reform, right? Lmao.

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I actually laughed when told bayonet practice was Ok for children, who in their right mind expects a positive outcome. Kids with edged weapons? Next they will train pilots to crash into things. Oh they did that during the Glory years. Not the politicians of course. This idea that being Japanese is bearing suffering with resolve could be a wrong turn, why not be positive and teach skills that are cutting edge and relevant in the future. I have a knife I have little education ugh prison time.

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Ricky KaminskiApr. 07, 2017 - 02:49PM JST Ossan America, cheers for the history lesson. Good stuff. Have to admit though mate I too am guilty of this pathological >abhorrence of "war". Shouldn't we all be?

Sure rational people all abhor war. The issue is how we manifest it. Remaining military-phobic while the other nation builds up it's military and bullies smaller neighbors is one way. Building up your own military to act as a deterrence to further aggressive action is another. Lie down and wait to die, or show that you're prepared to fight for your survival. It was Douglas MacArthur who said "Nobody hates war as much as the soldier".

ThePBotApr. 07, 2017 - 12:12PM JST Lol, thank you for basically likening Japan with an authoritarian country. Good job. Oh, and the LDP is responsible for it.

Went right over your head. LOL

Fred WallaceApr. 07, 2017 - 07:33PM JST And guess what nation is most responsible for it? Smh

"Japan is tryng to become a "normal" country on many levels. Such efforts will and are being fought tooth and nail by the opposition parties and people who don't want to give up their Heiwa Boke way of life. Objectively, there's no question that the security picture in the region has changed and Japan has to properly adjust to meet those changes"

What a strange way of looking at a very complex situation!! Unless japan's willing to change economic models to start >skirmishes abroad ala America, they should and must stay away from armaments!!

Nothing "strange" about it. It's common sense and a view shared by all US think tanks. What I described is in fact the "complex" situation. Japan does not need to change economic models and it's constitution prohibits it from skirmishes abroad, other than in line with UNPK actions. Keeping Japan away from armaments is unrealistic, and in fact way too late.

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Fred WallaceApr. 07, 2017 - 08:16AM JST "The entire country is right wing." It's a communist dictatorship what do you expect?

That they don't shoot off their constant hypocrisy.

Japan on the other hand is supposed to be a freedom loving democracy. That's slowly going down the tunes.

And guess what nation is most responsible for it?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Maybe some of the readers here in previous comments on this issue are true in stating that the pacifist constitution was simply forced on them after the war and now the true Japan is reawakening, fangs and all. You watch the way they treat each other sometimes and start to get an idea of what lies just below this surface of "harmony" . Your average Jo Blow seems pretty harmless, it's what happens to them when they get a bit of power and how they use it is what worries me. Nervous times for the whole region if this boat truly sets sail.

On the other hand, to play the devils advocate, you can see why they want to do something about an apathetic youth, but is this really the way forward or backwards?

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Ossan America, cheers for the history lesson. Good stuff. Have to admit though mate I too am guilty of this pathological abhorrence of "war". Shouldn't we all be?

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Japanese Abe Govt is trying to increase "obedient nation people" by problematic conspiracy law and patriotic education like prewar.

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And guess what nation is most responsible for it?

Smh

Japan is tryng to become a "normal" country on many levels. Such efforts will and are being fought tooth and nail by the opposition parties and people who don't want to give up their Heiwa Boke way of life. Objectively, there's no question that the security picture in the region has changed and Japan has to properly adjust to meet those changes

What a strange way of looking at a very complex situation!! Unless japan's willing to change economic models to start skirmishes abroad ala America, they should and must stay away from armaments!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Went right over your head. LOL

Google "irony".

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The pacifist constitution was indeed forced upon Japan after WWII, however Article 9 was put in by the United States in order to be able to keep the Emperor intact. Some other victorious allied nations wanted the Emperor tried as a war criminal but the US needed the Emperor intact to avoid internal dissent and breakdown which would allow for the USSR to step in to take advantage of the situation. Article 9 satisfied the other allies. There is a huge misconception that Japan has been held down militarily by the US written constitution. As early as the Korean War the US demanded that Japan create a military, something that Article 9 prohibited. To get around it the JSDF was created as an extension of the national police force. All throughout the next decades and the cold war the US pressed Japan to increase it's military, the pressure being highest in the 1980s when Japan was an economic giant. President Ronald Reagan pressed PM Zenko Suzuki for Japan to help defend Guam, which was refused, In 1991 the Bush administration asked Japan to send troops as part of the coalition to topple Sadam Hussein, which was again refused. (However Japam did pay for most of the coalition costs and sent JMSDF minesweepers to the PG after the war ended.). The fact is that Japan has used Article 9 as an excuse to evade the responsibility for regional security befitting it's economic status for decades. Until now, when the combination of a nationalist PM and an aggressive expansionist China crossed paths. In less than 20 years China accomplished where the US failed for 60 years, During this time Japan became famous for a lack of patriotism and a near pathological abhorrence of "war" and anything that could lead to it. It was (and is) a self centered view, living in "Heiwa Boke" while expecting the US to shed blood by themselves to protect Japan. Together with the changes in the US-Japan Security alliance that the Abe administration has implemented there exists a need to break the Japanese public out of their shell, and that is where the need to instill patriotism comes from. Japan is tryng to become a "normal" country on many levels. Such efforts will and are being fought tooth and nail by the opposition parties and people who don't want to give up their Heiwa Boke way of life. Objectively, there's no question that the security picture in the region has changed and Japan has to properly adjust to meet those changes, Nobody wants to go back to the WWII military dictatorship and Emperor worship. That's why the Japanese freak out watching North Korea on TV.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

“From relaxing (the) post-war constitution that bans its military from fighting abroad to ambitious overseas military presences, and now from the military to national education, the steps taken by the Abe administration reveal Japanese far rightists’ attempt to revive pre-war militarism,” it said.

Said Xinhua, the state controlled news media of China, a one party totalitarian dictatorship with "Patriotic Education" throughout it's school system,military and territorial expansion agenda, disregard for international courts and tribunals, possessing nuclear weapons since 1961, supporter of the North Korean regime, and threat to peace and stability in the region as perceived by all of it's neighbors. The entire country is right wing.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

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