Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform
Encyclopedia
is a group founded in December 1996 to promote a revisionist view of Japanese history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...

. The group was responsible for authoring a history textbook published from Fusōsha (扶桑社), which was heavily criticised by China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, and many Western historians for not including full accounts
Whitewash (censorship)
To whitewash is a metaphor meaning to gloss over or cover up vices, crimes or scandals or to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data. It is especially used in the context of corporations, governments or other organizations.- Etymology :Its first...

 of or downplaying Imperial Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...

 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, such as the Nanjing Massacre (南京大虐殺) as "Nanjing Incident" (南京事件) and the policy of utilizing "comfort women
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...

" (慰安婦).

The textbook also highlights Japan's claim to Takeshima
Liancourt Rocks
The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto in Korean or in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan . Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea...

 which is currently administered by the Republic of Korea as Dokdo, and Senkaku Islands
Senkaku Islands
The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...

 which are administered by Japan and claimed by both the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 and the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 (Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

).

The Japan Policy Institute (日本政策研究センター, not to be confused with the JPRI
Japan Policy Research Institute
The Japan Policy Research Institute is a non-profit organization organized under section 501 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that was founded in 1994 by Chalmers Johnson and Steven C...

 based in San Francisco) has published a pamphlet entitled "Questionable points of Chinese and Korean textbooks" (ここがおかしい中国・韓国歴史教科書). The institute accuses neighboring Asian nations' textbooks of containing anti-Japanese
Anti-Japanese sentiment
Anti-Japanese sentiment involves hatred, grievance, distrust, dehumanization, intimidation, fear, hostility, and/or general dislike of the Japanese people and Japanese diaspora as ethnic or national group, Japan, Japanese culture, and/or anything Japanese. Sometimes the terms Japanophobia and...

 propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

, and encouraged people to compare the textbooks.

Public reception

The textbook, published as a trade book in Japan in June 2001, sold six hundred thousand copies. Despite commercial success, the book was taken up by only a handful of schools, most of which are privately run and located in a comparatively small geographic area of Tokyo.

New History Textbook 2005 version

Translated by Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform.
  1. Nanjing Massacre:
    "In August 1937, two Japanese soldiers, one an officer, were shot to death in Shanghai
    Shanghai
    Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

     (the hub of foreign interests). After this incident, the hostilities between Japan and China escalated. Japanese military officials thought Chiang Kai-shek
    Chiang Kai-shek
    Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

     would surrender if they captured Nanking, the Nationalist capital; they occupied that city in December. *But Chiang Kai-shek had moved his capital to the remote city of Chongqing. The conflict continued. Note *At this time, many Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded by Japanese troops (the Nanking Incident). Documentary evidence has raised doubts about the actual number of victims claimed by the incident. The debate continues even today" (p. 49).
  2. Marco Polo Bridge Incident
    Marco Polo Bridge Incident
    The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War .The eleven-arch granite bridge, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure,...

    :
    “On July 7, 1937, shots were fired at Japanese soldiers while they were engaged in maneuvers near Marco Polo Bridge (located outside Beijing
    Beijing
    Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

    ). By the next day, this incident (the Marco Polo Bridge Incident
    Marco Polo Bridge Incident
    The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War .The eleven-arch granite bridge, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure,...

    ) had escalated into hostilities with Chinese troops. The incident was of relatively small magnitude, and efforts were made to resolve it locally. But Japan decided to send a large number of troops to China when the Nationalist government issued an emergency mobilization order. These events marked the beginning of a war that lasted for eight long years" (p. 49).
  3. Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
    Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
    The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It represented the desire to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers"...

    :
    "The war inflicted a huge amount of devastation and suffering on the peoples of Asia, where it was fought. The casualties (both military and civilian) attributable to Japanese invasions were particularly high in China. Each time the Japanese occupied a Southeast Asian nation, they set up a military administration. Leaders of local independence movements cooperated with those military administrations so that they could liberate their countries from the yoke of the Western powers. But when the Japanese insisted that local populations learn the Japanese language and worship at Shinto
    Shinto
    or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

     shrines, they met with resistance. Anti-Japanese elements who aligned themselves with the Allies engaged in guerrilla warfare
    Guerrilla warfare
    Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

    , which Japanese troops dealt with severely. Many people, civilians included, were killed during these confrontations. When the fortunes of war turned against Japan and food supplies ran short, the Japanese often forced the local population to do back-breaking work. After the war was over, Japan paid reparations
    War reparations
    War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...

     to those nations. Then Japan was accused of promoting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
    Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
    The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It represented the desire to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers"...

     philosophy to justify the war and occupation of Asia. Later, after Japan was defeated and Japanese troops had withdrawn from Asia, all these former colonies achieved independence
    Independence
    Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

     through their own efforts during the next dozen years. Some Japanese soldiers remained in Asia and participated in the various struggles for independence. The initial goal of Japan’s southward advance was to obtain resources, but it also served to spur on nascent independence movements in Asia" (p. 54)
  4. Japanese Actions Inspire the Peoples of Asia:
    "Japanese soldiers drove out the forces of Western Europe, which had colonized the nations of Asia for many years. They surprised us, because we didn’t think we could possibly beat the white man, and they inspired us with confidence. They awakened us from our long slumber, and convinced us to make the nation of our ancestors our own nation once again. We cheered the Japanese soldiers as they marched through the Malay Peninsula
    Malay Peninsula
    The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

    . When we saw the defeated British troops fleeing, we felt an excitement we had never experienced before. (Excerpt from the writings of Raja Dato Nong Chik, leader of the Malaysian independence movement and former member of the Malaysian House of Representatives)" (p. 54)

Shiro Takahashi

One of the authors of the text, Shiro Takahashi, a Meisei University
Meisei University
is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. The school's two campuses are in Hino and Ōme. It also offers correspondence courses which it introduced in 1967.-History:...

 professor and former deputy chairman of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, was hired by the Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

 Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....

 in December 2004 while still serving as a member of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform.

See also

  • Japanese history textbook controversies
    Japanese history textbook controversies
    Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...

  • 2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations
  • Education in Japan
    Education in Japan
    In Japan, education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Approximately 98% of all students progress to the upper secondary level, which is voluntary . Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper...

  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
  • Japan Teachers Union
    Japan Teachers Union
    , often just called , is Japan's largest and oldest labor union of teachers and school staffs. The union is known for its critical stance against the conservative Liberal Democratic Party government on such issues as Kimi ga Yo, the Flag of Japan, and the screening of history text books since its...

  • Market share of government-approved Japanese history textbooks
    Market share of government-approved Japanese history textbooks
    -Year 1966–2002:*Legends: Bunkyo = Nihon Bunkyo Shuppan , Chukyo = Chukyo Shuppan , Gakkou = Gakkou Tosho , Kyouiku = Kyouiku Shuppan , Dainihon = Dainihon Tosho , Fusosha = Fusosha , Shimizu = Shimizu Shoin , Shoseki = Nihon Shoseki , Teikoku = Teikoku Shoin , Tokyo = Tokyo Shoseki .*Source: Japan...

  • Japanese nationalism
    Japanese nationalism
    encompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Japanese people over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny...

  • Japanese war crimes
    Japanese war crimes
    Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...

  • Korean-Japanese disputes
    Korean-Japanese disputes
    There have been disputes between Japan and Korea on many issues over the years. The two nations have a complex history of cultural exchange, trade, and war, underlying their relations today...

  • Manga - The Hate Korea Wave
  • Yoshinori Kobayashi
    Yoshinori Kobayashi
    Yoshinori Kobayashi is a bestselling Japanese author and manga artist...

  • Gomanism
    Gomanism
    is a social/political commentary manga series by Japanese author Yoshinori Kobayashi.It first appeared in a weekly Japanese magazine SPA! in 1992. After the conflict over editorial style of the magazine during the Aum Shinrikyo affair, the manga moved to the biweekly political magazine SAPIO...

  • Neo Gomanism Manifesto Special - On War
    Neo Gomanism Manifesto Special - On War
    is a controversial series of manga written by right-wing Japanese manga artist Yoshinori Kobayashi. It was published in a series of three volumes by Gentosha as a supplement to the series serialized in SAPIO magazine from September 1995 onwards. There are currently no plans to translate these...

  • Japanese war crimes in mainland Asia
  • War crimes in Manchukuo
    War crimes in Manchukuo
    War crimes in Manchukuo were committed during the rule of the Empire of Japan in northeast China, either directly, or through its puppet state of Manchukuo, from 1931 to 1945...


External links


Translated excerpts from the textbook


Translation project

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK